Early Monday, a devastating earthquake rocked northern Afghanistan, claiming at least 15 lives and leaving hundreds injured. The tremor also inflicted considerable damage upon one of the nation’s most treasured historical sites, marking yet another severe blow to an already struggling country.
Measuring 6.3 in magnitude, the earthquake hit just before 1 a.m. Its epicenter was located close to Mazar-i-Sharif, a northern city with a population of approximately 500,000, renowned for its breathtaking 15th-century Blue Mosque. Tragically, the mosque suffered extensive damage, with its intricate tiles, sections of its walls, and historical inscriptions crumbling, as confirmed by local authorities and visual evidence showing debris scattered across its sacred grounds.
This latest seismic event further compounds the immense difficulties facing Afghanistan. The nation has been struggling with the severe repercussions of reduced international aid, the repatriation of over two million Afghans from neighboring countries this year, and the lingering devastation from another earthquake in the eastern region last August, which killed at least 2,200 people.
Recent weeks have also seen escalating tensions with neighboring Pakistan, marked by cross-border gunfire exchanges and Pakistani military airstrikes targeting Kabul and Kandahar, Afghanistan’s two largest urban centers.
Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Afghan Health Ministry, reported that a minimum of 15 lives were lost and 320 individuals sustained injuries, all of whom have been admitted to hospitals. By Monday afternoon, the regional hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif was treating approximately 20 patients, some with heavily bandaged limbs or blood-stained head injuries. Nakarulden, a farmer, recounted that he and his colleagues were returning to Mazar-i-Sharif from their rice fields when the earthquake hit, causing a boulder to crush their vehicle. Three members of his group tragically perished.
While the Afghan Ministry of Defense acknowledged fatalities and injuries in a public statement, specific numbers were not released.
Shake intensity
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Afghanistan’s geographical location, at the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, makes it highly susceptible to earthquakes. The quake last August, for instance, leveled remote mountainous villages and resulted in an estimated $183 million in damages, a figure roughly equivalent to one percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.
Just two years prior, in 2023, another earthquake in northern Afghanistan tragically claimed the lives of nearly 1,500 people, as officially reported.
Four years after the Taliban’s resurgence, Afghanistan faces a profound humanitarian crisis, with over half of its 42 million citizens already requiring aid. The country, largely isolated globally apart from its immediate neighbors, has been further burdened by the recent influx of more than two million Afghans, forcibly returned or compelled to leave Iran and Pakistan due to rising xenophobia and diplomatic strains.
A significant reduction in foreign aid this year, initiated by the Trump administration and European nations, has led to the closure of hundreds of healthcare facilities across Afghanistan.
The most recent earthquake impacted the northern provinces of Samangan and Balkh, close to the Uzbekistan border. In Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh, residents were observed clearing rubble from the revered Blue Mosque on Monday. This mosque, a significant shrine within Shiite Islam, serves as a crucial pilgrimage site and a vibrant center for Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebrations.