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A 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted northeastern Afghanistan on June 28 evening, sending tremors all the way from Pakistan to northern India and Tajikistan, with mild tremors felt in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake’s epicenter was located near Jurm in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan region at a depth of approximately 208 km.
The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) recorded the quake at a depth of 215 km and said it occurred at 7.04 pm IST.
The earthquake was felt across several Afghan provinces, including Badakhshan, Balkh, Nangarhar and Khost, with residents in Kabul reporting buildings shaking with visible cracks appearing in some structures.
Strong tremors were also experienced across parts of India, including Delhi-NCR and Jammu and Kashmir, prompting many residents to rush outdoors.
Authorities in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan have not reported any casualties or major damage immediately after the earthquake, with officials stating that assessments are continuing, especially in Afghanistan’s more remote areas where the poor communication and transport is making assessments difficult.
The USGS placed the epicenter about 43 km south of Jurm in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region, an area prone to seismic activity due to the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Afghanistan is no stranger to earthquakes, especially in its more far-flung mountainous regions where many homes are shoddily constructed and communities are difficult to access.
The country has suffered several deadly earthquakes in recent years. In April last year, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in Badakhshan province killed 12 people.
Similarly, in August the very same year, a shallow 6.0-magnitude earthquake devastated whole villages in eastern Afghanistan and killed more than 2,200 people. Weeks later, a separate 6.3-magnitude quake in northern Afghanistan claimed at least 27 lives.
Major earthquakes in western Herat in 2023 and eastern Nangarhar in 2022 have also killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of homes.