The earthquake hit late Friday, rattling parts of northern and eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8, according to the reporting. Officials in Afghanistan said at least eight people died after a house collapsed on the outskirts of Kabul, and a child was injured; the Kabul governor’s spokesman Hafizullah Basharat said the victims were all members of the same family.
The quake’s epicenter was located in the Hindu Kush mountain range, about 150 kilometers east of Kabul, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center and the U.S. Geological Survey. Kabul lies roughly 290 kilometers southwest of the epicenter, and the area closer to the epicenter is remote, which Afghan authorities said can delay local damage assessments reaching the capital.
Because the earthquake occurred at a depth of more than 180 kilometers, it was felt across a wide area. In Pakistan, the Pakistan Meteorological Department reported that people in Islamabad, Peshawar, Chitral, Swat and Shangla felt the shaking. The same report said there were no immediate notifications of damage or injuries in Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said Kabul and provincial health authorities were put on alert following the quake. Officials also noted the country’s recurring vulnerability to earthquakes and other natural disasters, especially in remote areas where emergency response can take time to organize and confirm.
In recent years, Afghanistan has faced major earthquakes and their aftermath. Last August, a 6.0 earthquake in a remote, mountainous part of eastern Afghanistan killed more than 2,200 people, with most casualties in Kunar province, where residents often live in wood and mud-brick houses along steep valleys. In November, a 6.3 earthquake struck Samangan province in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 950, and it also damaged historical sites, including Afghanistan’s Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif and the Bagh-e-Jahan Nama Palace in Khulm.