Magnitude 6.3 quake hits northern Afghanistan

Magnitude 6.3 quake hits northern Afghanistan

The USGS revised the quake’s depth near Mazar-i-Sharif to 28km, up from an initial 10km reading.

Afghanistan quake
Afghanistan suffered a 6.3-magnitude quake, two months after a tremor that killed over 2,200 people. (AP pic)

MAZAR-I-SHARIF: A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan overnight Sunday into Monday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, two months after a tremor killed over 2,200 people in a country grappling with poverty and other woes.

The agency said the quake hit in northern Afghanistan at a revised depth of 28km in Kholm, near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. It was felt by AFP correspondents in the capital Kabul.

The agency had initially given the depth as just 10km.

On Aug 31 the deadliest quake in recent Afghan history, measuring 6.0, struck in the country’s east, killing more than 2,200 people.

Earthquakes are common in the country, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.

Since 1900, northeastern Afghanistan has been hit by 12 quakes with a magnitude above 7, according to Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey.

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