Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 1100 in eastern provinces
Shafaq News – Kabul (Updated TUE Sep 02 18:27)
A powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan overnight, killing at least 1411 people and injuring around 3,251, authorities said on Monday.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the 6.0-magnitude quake occurred 27 kilometers (17 miles) east of Jalalabad in Nangahar province at a shallow depth of 8 kilometers (5 miles). The tremor, which struck around midnight local time, was followed by at least five aftershocks measuring between 4.5 and 5.2.
The USGS PAGER system issued an orange alert, warning of significant human and economic losses; however, relief efforts have been slowed by landslides.
At least nine people, including children, were martyred and 20 others injured in an earthquake that struck the Dara-e Noor district of Nangarhar.#RTA pic.twitter.com/sQbxdY84Pl
— RTA English (@rtaenglish1) September 1, 2025
Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the Afghan Public Health Ministry, said it would “take time to get the exact information about human losses and damage to the infrastructure” because of the remoteness of the affected areas.
The quake was also felt in neighboring Pakistan.
Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to earthquakes as it lies on the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Shallow tremors are particularly destructive in the country’s mountainous east, where landslides complicate rescue operations.
In June 2022, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake killed about 1,000 people in eastern Afghanistan. The following year, three 6.3-magnitude quakes struck western Herat province in one week, killing roughly 1,500 people, according to the United Nations.
