A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring about320, authorities said, with the death toll likely to rise.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at a depth of 28 km (17.4 miles) near Mazar-e Sharif, which has a population of about 523,000.

“A total of 150 people injured and seven martyred have been reported and transferred to health centres as of this morning,” said Samim Joyanda, the spokesperson for the health department in Samangan, a mountainous northern province near Mazar-e Sharif told Reuters.

The toll was based on hospital reports collected as of Monday morning, he said.

The Afghan Taliban defence ministry said parts of Balkh and Samangan provinces were the most affected, resulting in fatalities among a number of citizens.

Military Rescue and emergency assistance teams reached the area immediately and began operations to rescue people, transport the injured, and assist affected families, it said in a statement.

Recent earthquakes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region

2025

** A magnitude 6.2 quake struck southeastern Afghanistan just before midnight on August 31. It was followed by a series of strong aftershocks over the next week, killing more than 2,200 people and injuring thousands.

** A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck central Pakistan on June 29.

** A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Pakistan on May 10, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.

** Quakes of magnitude 5.6 and 5.8 hit the Hindu Kush and Afghanistan-Tajikistan border regions on April 16 and 19, respectively.

** A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Pakistan on April 12.

** Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi was hit by several moderate or minor tremors in March and June.

2024

** A magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on October 17.

** An earthquake of magnitude 5.75 struck Pakistan on September 11.

** Earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and 5.8 struck Pakistan between March 19 and March 20.

** An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 hit northwestern Kashmir on February 19.

** A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on January 11.

** A magnitude 5 earthquake hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region on January 5.

2023

** An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region on November 15.

** Around 1,000 people died as multiple earthquakes rattled Afghanistan in October.

** On August 6, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.

** Earthquakes of magnitude 5.6 and 5.7 hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on May 3 and on August 5, respectively.

** An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit northern Afghanistan in late March, killing at least 13.

** A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on January 5.

2022

** An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 hit southeastern Afghanistan on December 16.

** Over September 5 and 6, at least two earthquakes struck Afghanistan, killing at least eight people.

** A magnitude 5.6 quake struck Pakistan’s southwestern region on August 1.

** A magnitude 6 earthquake in Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people in June.

** A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on February 5.

** An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 hit western Afghanistan on January 17.

2021

** At least 15 people were killed after an earthquake struck southern Pakistan on October 7.

** A magnitude 4.6 earthquake shook Afghanistan on May 19.

Health ministry spokesperson Sharfat Zaman said rescue teams were active and the numbers of dead and injured might rise.

“Health teams have arrived in the area, and all nearby hospitals have been put on standby,” Zaman said in a statement.

The USGS issued an orange alert in its PAGER system, which is an automated system that produces information on the impact of earthquakes, and indicated that “significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread”.

ACTIVE FAULTS

Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to quakes as it lies on two active faults that have the potential to rupture and cause extensive damage.

More than 2,200 people were killed and thousands more injured after a quake and strong aftershocks in the southeast of the war-shattered Islamic country at the end of August.

Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response, the system’s alert added.

The earthquake destroyed part of the holy shrine of Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh province spokesperson Haji Zaid said, referring to the Blue Mosque.

Videos of rescue efforts being carried out to save people trapped under rubble and images of fallen debris in buildings were shared on the social media platform X. One video showed rescuers pulling what appeared to be dead bodies from rubble.

Reuters could not immediately verify the footage and the images.