Overview
- USGS recorded a magnitude 6.3 earthquake around 1:00 a.m. local time near Kholm/Mazar-i-Sharif at a depth of about 28 km.
- Afghanistan’s health ministry reports at least 20 dead and 534 injured in Balkh and Samangan, with some officials citing more than 640 injuries.
- USGS PAGER issued an orange alert indicating a high-risk scenario with an estimated 100–1,000 potential fatalities.
- State utility DABS says damage to imported transmission lines cut electricity to Kabul, Baghlan, Parwan, Panjshir, Kapisa, Logar, Paktia, Ghazni and Maidan Wardak.
- Structural damage was reported at Mazar-i-Sharif’s Blue Mosque; at least five aftershocks up to magnitude 5.2 followed as Taliban authorities and UN teams deployed medical and assessment operations.