At least seven people were killed when a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit Afghanistan on Monday morning. At least 150 others have been injured due to the powerful tremors in the city of Mazar-e Sharif, Reuters reports, citing the local health directorate.
Death Toll Continues to Rise
The death toll is expected to rise as rescue efforts continue in one of Afghanistan’s largest cities. Monday’s earthquake comes months after a magnitude 6 earthquake left at least 2,200 people dead and even more injured.
CCTV footage shows the moment a strong M6.3 earthquake struck Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, a short while ago. pic.twitter.com/NX0o04Ggi5
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) November 2, 2025
While initial reports estimated the magnitude of the quake as 6.2 in terms of the Richter scale, the US Geological Survey said the magnitude was 6.3.
In addition, the powerful nature of the tremors caused the USGS to issue an orange alert in its PAGER system, which indicates that “significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread.”
Tremors Caught on Camera
As social media floods with images of destruction in Afghanistan, CCTV footage from a house in Mazar-e Sharif has gone viral for capturing the moment the earthquake struck the Afghan city.
According to the USGS, the quake struck at a depth of 28 km (17.4 miles) near Mazar-e Sharif, which has a population of about 523,000. While rescue efforts are still underway, Reuters, quoting the national disaster management agency, said details about casualties and damage would be provided later.
Other videos on social media also show the rescue efforts being carried out in the area to save those who have been caught in the rubble and fallen debris.
One such video shared on X shows rescuers pulling what seemed to be dead bodies from rubble and looking for any other people who may have been caught in the destruction.
Rescue Efforts After 6.3 Earthquake in Tashkurgan, Afghanistan
Locals in Tashkurgan are working to rescue people trapped under the rubble following a 6.3-magnitude earthquake. pic.twitter.com/ujsMNyWYbT
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) November 2, 2025
2200 Killed After August Earthquake
In its earlier statement in August, the Taliban administration of Afghanistan said that at least 2,200 people were killed because of the 6.0 magnitude earthquake.
Previous estimates by Taliban spokespersons were 1,400 killed and more than 3,000 injured, but this number rose as rescue efforts continued.
Due to its position on a number of fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, the landlocked country is prone to earthquakes. Also, many of the earthquakes striking Kabul are shallow, which means that high energy is released at the surface to produce serious damage.
Also Read: Earthquake of Magnitude 3.2 Jolts Himachal Pradesh, No Major Damage Reported
