Kabul: Eight people died while many other casualties are feared as an earthquake jolted northern Afghanistan on Monday.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a 5.3-magnitude earthquake occurred early on Monday in the eastern city of Jalalabad.
Maulvi Najibullah Hanif, the provincial governor’s spokesman, said that “Sunday night’s earthquake has caused financial and human losses in Kunar province,” with the possibility that the number of casualties would increase.
In June this year, more than 1000 people lost their lives when an earthquake of 6.1 magnitudes jolted the war-torn country.
Initial news then confirmed that 255 people had lost their lives which later on increased to cross the thousand mark.
The tragedy occurred as the US-led international forces hastily withdrew after two decades of war, and Afghanistan has since been going through a severe economic crisis since the Taliban seized power in August.
Challenges after US troops withdrawal | By Rashid A Mughal
Many governments put sanctions on Afghanistan’s banking industry and reduced development aid by billions of dollars in response to the Taliban takeover.
