A massive rescue operation was underway in Afghanistan Monday, after a strong earthquake and multiple aftershocks flattened homes in a remote, mountainous region, killing more than 800 people, the
A massive rescue operation was underway in Afghanistan Monday, after a strong earthquake and multiple aftershocks flattened homes in a remote, mountainous region, killing more than 800 people, the Taliban authorities said.
The earthquake struck just before midnight, shaking buildings from Kabul to neighboring Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
More than 1.2 million people likely felt strong or very strong shaking, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Near the epicenter in the east of Afghanistan, around 800 people were killed and 2,500 injured in remote Kunar province alone, chief Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
Another 12 people were killed and 255 injured in neighboring Nangarhar province, he added.
“Numerous houses were destroyed,” interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani told AFP.
The majority of Afghans live in low-rise, mud-brick homes that are vulnerable to collapse.
Some of the most severely impacted villages in remote Kunar provinces “remain inaccessible due to road blockages,” the UN migration agency warned in a statement to AFP.
