Deadly earthquake hits Afghanistan
Deadly earthquake hits Afghanistan,
A magnitude 6 earthquake has hit Afghanistan near its border with Pakistan.
The death toll from Sunday night’s disaster has risen to more than 800 people, according to the government. Flooding and debris have hampered rescue efforts.
At 11:47pm (19:47 GMT) on Sunday, the earthquake shook Nangarhar and Kunar provinces in eastern Afghanistan. It was 8km (5 miles) deep, making it a shallow tremor.
Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage because the epicentre of the quake and seismic waves are closer to the Earth’s surface. Seismic waves from deep earthquakes have to travel a greater distance to get to the surface, which causes them to lose energy.
Twenty minutes after the first earthquake, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake hit north of Basawul in Nangarhar province. Since then, multiple tremors have struck near the provincial capital, Jalalabad, and Basawul with magnitudes ranging from 4.3 to 5.2.
