Earthquake kills 5 and destroys 665 homes in Afghanistan

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) wrote today that Wednesday’s earthquake killed 5 people, injured 58 and destroyed 665 houses in Afghanistan. 

“Yesterday’s 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Badakhshan Province has killed 5 people, injured 58 more and damaged or destroyed around 665 houses across Badakhshan, Bamyan, Panjshir, Parwan, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Samangan and Takhar provinces,” UNOCHA tweeted today.

The organization added that the assessment and response teams have been deployed by partners to the affected areas to provide immediate relief to affected families. Despite the magnitude and scope of the disaster, the organization remains committed to providing support and resources to those in need.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located in North-eastern Badakhshan province near the Tajikistan border, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The quake had a depth of 187.6 km and occurred around 9:20 PM local time on March 22.

The Taliban’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has estimated the casualties to be around 50 people, with their spokesperson Shafiullah Rahimi saying “these people were killed and injured in Kabul, Badakhshan, Paktika, Laghman, Takhar, Khost, Baghlan, and Samangan.”