At least 20 people were killed as a result of a new earthquake that struck northern Afghanistan

Afghan Health Ministry spokesman, Sharafat Zaman, said in a video clip distributed to journalists on Monday morning, that "About 534 of our citizens were injured and more than 20 killed" In the provinces of Balkh and Samangan.

Damage to the Blue Mosque

In the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, damage was caused to the Blue Mosque, which dates back to the fifteenth century and is considered one of the most prominent tourist attractions in Afghanistan.

Some stones fell from the mosque, especially at the level of the minaret, and were scattered on the ground, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent. Journalists were not allowed to take pictures of the mosque immediately.

Rescuing the Stranded

The Ministry of Defense announced that it had reopened the main road between Mazar-i-Sharif and Khulm, which extends between two slopes after landslides caused by the earthquake cut it off, and rescued people who were trapped there overnight.

But there is still a need to restore electricity in several provinces after electricity supply lines coming from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were damaged, according to what the company said. State-owned Dabis Electricity Company.

Deputy Taliban spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, said on the platform "X" that "Many homes were destroyed, and there were reports of huge financial losses"adding that he ordered "Authorities competent to distribute medical and food aid and provide assistance to those affected"

Seismic activity area

Residents of several areas in Afghanistan, including Kabul, located hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter, felt the earthquake, according to Agence France-Presse correspondents.
In Mazar-i-Sharif, many rushed out of their homes for fear of possible aftershocks, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent.

This comes nearly two months after a six-magnitude earthquake struck areas in eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 2,200 people and more than four thousand were injured, making it the deadliest earthquake in the country’s modern history. It also led to the destruction of nearly seven thousand homes.

Devastating tremors

The previous earthquake was followed by many devastating aftershocks that impeded access to the affected areas, the majority of which were in agricultural and remote areas along the border with Pakistan.

The weak communications networks and infrastructure in Afghanistan hinder disaster response and prevent it for days from reaching remote villages to assess the damage.

The coordination office estimated The United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Agency (OCHA) stated that $111.5 million is needed to respond to the needs of the population after the earthquake, which put 221,000 people in critical condition. "Extreme need" To help.

Frequent earthquakes

Afghanistan, located at the intersection of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, is frequently hit by earthquakes.

Since 1900, the northeast of the country has witnessed 12 earthquakes with a magnitude exceeding 7 magnitude, according to Brian Baptee, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey.

In October 2023, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck, followed by a series of earthquakes. One of the strong aftershocks hit Herat Province in western Afghanistan, killing more than 1,500 people and destroying or damaging more than 63,000 homes, according to United Nations estimates.