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Strong 6.3 Quake Strikes Northern Afghanistan Near Mazar-i-Sharif

USGS issues an Orange PAGER alert warning of potentially high losses.

Overview

  • Shaking began around 12:59 am local time near Khulm, with USGS revising the depth to 28 km while GFZ and EMSC report a shallower ~10 km.
  • Afghanistan’s disaster agency said impact assessments are under way with no immediate confirmed casualty or damage totals.
  • USGS PAGER modeling projects 100–1,000 possible fatalities and indicates millions experienced light to very strong shaking.
  • At least five aftershocks were recorded, the strongest around magnitude 5.2, with tremors felt into Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
  • The quake comes weeks after deadly events in Afghanistan, intensifying concern about vulnerable housing and strained response capacity.