A devastating earthquake rocked northern Afghanistan early Monday, claiming at least 15 lives and leaving hundreds injured. The quake also inflicted significant damage on one of the nation’s most cherished historical sites, adding to the country’s ongoing struggles.
The 6.3-magnitude tremor hit just before 1 a.m., with its epicenter located near Mazar-i-Sharif, a city of approximately 500,000 residents renowned for its stunning 15th-century Blue Mosque. The earthquake tragically damaged the mosque, with its intricate tiles, sections of its walls, and historical inscriptions crumbling and leaving debris scattered across its sacred grounds, as confirmed by local authorities and visual reports.
This latest earthquake further compounds the challenges faced by Afghanistan. The nation has already been struggling under the strain of significant aid reductions, the recent return of over two million Afghans from neighboring countries, and the lingering devastation from another earthquake in the eastern region that killed at least 2,200 people just months prior.
Adding to the precarious situation, recent weeks have seen escalating tensions with neighboring Pakistan, marked by cross-border gunfire and Pakistani military airstrikes in Kabul and Kandahar, Afghanistan’s two largest cities.
Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Afghan Health Ministry, confirmed 15 fatalities and reported that 320 injured individuals were transported to hospitals. By Monday afternoon, approximately 20 quake victims were receiving care at Mazar-i-Sharif’s regional hospital, many with visible injuries and bloodied bandages. One survivor, a farmer named Nakarulden, recounted how a boulder struck their vehicle as he and other agricultural workers were returning from rice fields when the earthquake hit, tragically killing three men in his group.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense acknowledged the casualties in an official statement on social media but did not release specific numbers.
Afghanistan is inherently susceptible to seismic activity due to its location at the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. The earthquake earlier in August devastated remote mountain villages and resulted in an estimated $183 million in damages, a figure equivalent to roughly one percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Northern Afghanistan experienced another severe earthquake in 2023, which tragically claimed nearly 1,500 lives, according to official reports.
An interactive map provided further details on the shake intensity of the recent earthquake in Afghanistan.
Four years since the Taliban’s resurgence, Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis has deepened, with over half of its 42 million citizens already requiring aid. The nation, largely isolated, faces further pressure from the recent influx of more than two million Afghans repatriated from Iran and Pakistan, a situation exacerbated by rising xenophobia and cross-border tensions.
This year, a drastic reduction in foreign aid, primarily from the Trump administration and European nations, has led to the closure of hundreds of healthcare facilities across Afghanistan.
The recent earthquake primarily impacted the northern provinces of Samangan and Balkh, close to the Uzbek border. In Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh, residents worked to remove debris from the Blue Mosque’s premises on Monday. This historic mosque, a revered shrine for a key figure in Shia Islam, serves as a vital pilgrimage destination and a venue for Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebrations.
*Safiullah Padshah contributed reporting from Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, and Monika Cvorak from London.*