1,000 killed in Afghanistan following a 6.1-magnitude quake
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A powerful earthquake that struck southeastern Afghanistan left 1,000 killed and more than 1,500 injured.
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The earthquake left 1,000 people dead and more than 1,500 others wounded in the provinces of Paktika and Khost
A powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake has struck Afghanistan, leaving 1,000 people dead and more than 1,500 others wounded in the provinces of Paktika and Khost, local officials said.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) indicated that the powerful earthquake struck some 44 km (27 miles) from the city of Khost in southeastern Afghanistan and also shook parts of Pakistan.
The USGS originally reported that a 6.1-magnitude quake struck Khost, as Afghanistan's Bakhtar news agency said that the casualties were reported in the Barmala, Ziruk, Naka, and Gayan districts of Paktika province.
#BREAKING: At least 255 people have been killed and 155 others injured in an earthquake in Barmala, Ziruk, Naka and Gayan districts of Paktika province on Tuesday night.
— Bakhtar News Agency (@BakhtarNA) June 22, 2022
Local officials say the death toll could rise if the central government did not provide emergency help. pic.twitter.com/YlByfyArtG
Reuters cited an interior ministry official, Salahuddin Ayubi, as saying that most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern province of Paktika.
"The death toll is likely to rise as some of the villages are in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to collect details," Ayubi indicated.
Bilal Karimi, a spokesperson for the Taliban government tweeted that "Unfortunately, last night there was a severe earthquake in four districts of Paktika province, which killed and injured hundreds of our countrymen and destroyed dozens of houses."
"We call on aid agencies to provide immediate relief to the victims of the earthquake to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe," Karimi added.
Death toll from earthquake in #AfghanistanEarthquake rises to 920 with 610 people injured – Reuters citing local official. pic.twitter.com/Cnimf7SUvP
— Chris 🇦🇺 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Same name on Bastyon & Gab (@cm677427) June 22, 2022
Mohammad Amin Huzaifa, head of the Information and Culture Department in Paktika, one of the provinces hit by the earthquake, told AFP that the toll is expected to rise.
Government officials said they would soon release details of casualties and damage caused by the quake.
در نتیجه زلزله شب گذشته در ساحه افغان دوبی ولسوالی سپیری ولایت #خوست، 25 تن جان باختند و بیش از 95 تن دیگر زخم برداشتند.
— Bakhtar News Agency (@BakhtarNA) June 22, 2022
مسوولان محلی خوست می‌گویند که احتمال افزایش قربانیان این رویداد طبیعی وجود دارد.
آنان از دولت مرکزی و نهادهای کمک‌رسان خواستار کمک و همکاری فوری شدند. pic.twitter.com/Qf73mWODj7
Photographs posted on social media showed several heavily damaged mud houses in remote rural areas.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
