A strong-magnitude earthquake hit Afghanistans Herat area on Saturday, killing at least 15 people while 40 others were injured, according to media reports.15 killed in earthquake in Afghanistans HeratThe Taliban-appointed spokesperson for the Ministry of State for Disaster Management, Mullah Jan Saigh said, “Unfortunately, today we had an earthquake in three provinces of the country: Herat, Farah, and Badghis. This earthquake has resulted in significant casualties in Herat.”He also said that these are preliminary figures, and there is a possibility of them increasing. Saigh stated that in Farah and Badghis, some houses have also been destroyed, but there are no reports of casualties.Some residential houses in the provinces of Farah and Badghis have also been damaged to some extent, the spokesperson added.Details of earthquakeInternational geological sources also reported that two strong earthquakes and several aftershocks shook western Afghanistan within a 30-minute interval on Saturday morning. The epicentre of these quakes was near Herat, the largest city in the country.According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake had its epicentre in the Zenda Jan district of Herat province, with an initial magnitude of 6.3.As a result, people in Herat province and specific areas of Mashhad have evacuated their homes as a precaution against potential aftershocks.The connectivity outage makes it challenging to gather information and evaluate the full impact of the seismic event and any resulting damages.
