Powerful magnitude 6.3 quake hits north Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region

Powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake shakes northern Afghanistan

(AP)

A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake has shaken northern Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake’s epicenter was located 22 kilometers (14 miles) west-southwest of Khulm, Afghanistan, and had a depth of 28 kms. It struck at 12:59 a.m. Monday local time, the USGS said. 

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake on Aug. 31, 2025 in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border killed more than 2,200 people. On Oct. 7, 2023, a magnitude 6.3 followed by strong aftershocks left at least 4,000 people dead, according to the Taliban government.

Powerful magnitude 6.3 quake hits north Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region

A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake has struck northern Afghanistan, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), two months after a quake killed thousands of people in the impoverished nation’s east.

The USGS said overnight Sunday into Monday that the quake hit at a revised depth of 28km (17 miles) in Kholm, near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the Hindu Kush region, at 12:59 am local time (20:29 GMT). It was felt by correspondents with the AFP news agency based in the capital Kabul.

In Mazar-i-Sharif, many people ran into the street in the middle of the night, fearing their homes might collapse, an AFP correspondent observed.