Powerful quake aftershocks cause more injuries in Afghanistan

Jalalabad (AFP)

A series of strong aftershocks from a deadly earthquake that hit eastern Afghanistan at the weekend injured at least another 10 people and caused further damage, Taliban authorities said on Friday.

Five shallow aftershocks, the strongest measuring at magnitude 5.6, were recorded by the US Geological Survey (USGS) on Thursday night and Friday morning, with some rattling Kabul and neighbouring Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

National disaster authority spokesman Mohammad Hammad told AFP that 10 people were injured across eight provinces jolted by the aftershocks, including the hardest hit Kunar, Nangarhar and Laghman, adding to the more than 3,700 already injured in the initial quake.

Another 5.2-magnitude quake struck in the same area on Friday evening, according to the USGS.

More than 2,200 people were killed after the magnitude-6.0 earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan just before midnight on Sunday, making it the deadliest quake to hit the country in decades.

In Nuristan province, north of Kunar, resident Enamullah Safi said he and others ran out of their homes when the aftershocks hit overnight.

Some houses were damaged or destroyed, he said, adding that they have received little assistance, as aid is concentrated in the worst-hit zones.

Access has been stymied by already poor roads blocked by landslides and rockfall that continued as the area was convulsed by aftershocks.

The disaster comes as Afghanistan is already facing multiple crises after decades of conflict, contending with endemic poverty, severe drought and the influx of millions of Afghans forced back to the country by neighbours Pakistan and Iran since the Taliban's 2021 takeover.