6.0 magnitude earthquake kills more than 800 people in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border

Kabul, Afghanistan: A strong earthquake in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border has destroyed numerous villages and caused extensive damage, killing at least 800 people and injuring more than 2,500 others, interior ministry said. The deaths and injuries were expected to increase as search and rescue teams reached the area.

The quake late Sunday hit a series of towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighboring Nangahar province. The 6.0 magnitude at 11:47 p.m. was centered 27 kilometers (17 miles) east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was just 8 kilometers (5 miles) deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage.

In the earthquake that struck just before midnight on Sunday, "610 people were killed and 1,300 were injured in Kunar province, with numerous houses destroyed", spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said, adding that in Nangarhar province 12 people were killed and another 255 injured.

“Rescue operations are still underway there, and several villages have been completely destroyed. The figures for martyrs and injured are changing. Medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar and the capital Kabul have arrived in the area,” said Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for the ministry of public health.

He said many areas had not been able to report casualties figures and that “the numbers were expected to change” as death and injuries are reported.

Nearby Jalalabad is a bustling trade city due to its proximity with neighbouring Pakistan and a key border crossing between the countries. Although it has a population of about 300,000 according to the municipality, it’s metropolitan area is thought to be far larger. Most of its buildings are low-rise constructions, mostly of concrete and brick, and its outlying areas include homes built of mud bricks and wood. Many are of poor construction.

Jalalabad also has considerable agriculture and farming, including citrus fruit and rice, with the Kabul River flowing through the city.

Health ministry officials are anticipating a higher number of casualties as search and rescue efforts are underway.

The health ministry has released a preliminary statement warning that the number of people injured and killed is likely to be higher than initial reports. According to ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman, unconfirmed reports point to the death of nearly 30 people from a single village, with three villages completely destroyed.

'The numbers of the injured and the dead are likely higher, but since the area has limited access and communication, our teams are still on the ground,' Zaman said. "Once accurate figures are collected, God willing, we will share them with you.'

Afghanistan sits on a seismic fault line where the Indian and Eurasian plates collide, making it one of Asia's most earthquake-prone countries. Quakes frequently devastate the east and northeast, where fragile mud-brick homes collapse easily and rescue efforts are slowed by rugged terrain and poor infrastructure.

Earthquakes in the mountainous areas frequently trigger landslides, which can bury homes, block rivers, and cut off vital roads. These secondary disasters make it even harder for emergency teams and equipment to reach isolated communities.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

Nangarhar province was also hit by flooding overnight Friday to Saturday, which killed five people and destroyed crops and property, provincial authorities said.

Last year a series of strong quakes jolted Afghanistan's Herat province, killing more than 1,500 people and damaging or destroying more than 63,000 homes, according to an assessment by the United Nations, the European Union and the Asian Development Bank.

Ravaged by four decades of war, Afghanistan is already contending with a humanitarian disaster.

With the return of the Taliban, foreign aid to Afghanistan has shrunk dramatically, undermining the already impoverished nation's ability to respond to disasters.

In 2015, more than 380 people were killed in Pakistan and Afghanistan when a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake ripped across the two countries, with the bulk of the deaths in Pakistan.

In that disaster, 12 young Afghan girls were crushed to death in a stampede as they tried to flee their shaking school building.