KABUL, June 28: A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan on Saturday, according to the United States Geological Survey, USGS. Strong tremors were felt in the capital, Kabul, and several other parts of the country, local officials said.
AFP journalists in several Afghan provinces, as well as in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, reported feeling the powerful shaking. The USGS said the earthquake's epicenter was in northeastern Afghanistan at a depth of 208.3 kilometers.
Earthquake update: 6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Sindhupalch...
Buildings swayed in Kabul, and an AFP journalist reported large cracks appearing in the interior walls of several homes. The quake was also felt in the provinces of Balkh and Badakhshan, which border Tajikistan and Pakistan. Tremors were also reported in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Khost.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Badakhshan Province in April killed 12 people and affected large parts of the country. In August 2025, a 6.0 magnitude quake in eastern Afghanistan destroyed mountain villages and killed more than 2,200 people. A few weeks later, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in the country's north claimed at least 27 lives.
Major earthquakes in western Herat, near the Iranian border, in 2023 and in eastern Nangarhar in 2022 also killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of homes.
After decades of conflict, many houses in Afghanistan, especially in rural areas, remain poorly built and highly vulnerable to earthquakes.
The country's rugged terrain, weak communications network, and limited infrastructure have repeatedly hampered disaster response efforts, with authorities often taking hours or even days to reach remote villages.
