At least 622 people have been killed and more than 1,300 others injured in Afghanistan after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit the country, Taliban officials said Monday.
The earthquake struck 17 miles from the eastern city of Jalalabad near the border with Pakistan around midnight local time (3:30 p.m. ET Sunday), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Because the earthquake hit a remote mountainous area, “it will take time to get the exact information about human losses and damage to the infrastructure,” said Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Afghan Public Health Ministry.
“We have launched a massive rescue operation and mobilized hundreds of people to help people in the affected areas,” Zaman said.
Afghan interior ministry spokesperson Mufti Abdul Matin Qani said 622 people had been confirmed dead and more than 1,300 injured in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar, which includes Jalalabad, and Kunar.
The ministry said that 1,000 injured people had been evacuated and admitted to hospitals.Since the initial quake, at least five aftershocks ranging from 4.5 magnitude to 5.2 magnitude have hit the area throughout Monday, according to the USGS.
Aftershocks can last for days and can sometimes be worse than the first quake.
Afghanistan is especially vulnerable to earthquakes as it sits on top of several fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian plates meet. The mountainous terrain of eastern Afghanistan is also prone to landslides, making it harder for emergency services to carry out rescues.
This quake was especially devastating as it hit at a shallow depth of 5 miles, making it far more destructive even at moderate magnitude.
