Another quake hits Afghanistan, hindering efforts as death toll exceeds 1,400

An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 shook southeastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, sparking fears of further damage and destruction, almost two days after a large quake in the same region killed more than 1,400 people and injured thousands more.

Tuesday’s quake occurred at a relatively shallow depth of 10km (6 miles), the same level as the one that struck at midnight on Sunday with a magnitude of 6. That was one of Afghanistan’s worst quakes in years, flattening houses in remote villages.

The aftershock caused panic and halted rescue efforts as it sent rocks sliding down mountains, cutting off roads further and making it dangerous to dig through rubble, said Safiullah Noorzai, who works with Aseel, a humanitarian tech platform with networks across Afghanistan.

Noorzai, whose organisation has sent teams to the mountainous region, said more people had been injured, likely pushing the death toll higher.

The difficult terrain has badly hindered rescuers’ relief efforts in the isolated villages.

A Reuters journalist who reached the area on Tuesday, before the latest tremors, saw that every home had been damaged or destroyed, with locals still digging through the rubble for survivors.