2025 Afghanistan earthquake
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (August 2025) |
.jpg) USGS Shakemap | |
   Kabul Islamabad | |
| UTC time | 2025-08-31 19:17:34 |
|---|---|
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | 31 August 2025 |
| Local time | 23:47:34 AFT (UTC+4:30) |
| Magnitude | Mw 6.0 |
| Depth | 8 km (5.0 mi) |
| Epicenter | 34°31′08″N 70°44′02″E / 34.519°N 70.734°E |
| Type | Reverse |
| Areas affected |
|
| Max. intensity | MMI VIII (Severe) |
| Aftershocks | 13+ felt 4+ ≥Mw 4.0[1] Two mb 5.2 events on 31 August (strongest) |
| Casualties | 259+ fatalities, 530+ injuries |
On 31 August 2025, at 23:47 AFT (19:17 UTC), a Mw 6.0 earthquake struck Nangarhar and Kunar Provinces in Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan.[2] More than 250 people were killed and 530 others were injured.
Tectonic setting
[edit]Much of Afghanistan is situated in a broad zone of continental deformation within the Eurasian Plate. Seismic activity in Afghanistan is influenced by the subduction of the Arabian Plate to the west and the oblique subduction of the Indian Plate in the east. The subduction rate of the Indian Plate along the continental convergent boundary is estimated to be 39 mm/yr or higher. Transpression due to the plates interacting is associated with high seismicity within the shallow crust. Seismicity is detectable to a depth of 300 km (190 mi) beneath Afghanistan due to plate subduction.[3] These earthquakes beneath the Hindu Kush are the result of movement on faults accommodating detachment of the subducted crust.[4] Within the shallow crust, the Chaman Fault represents a major transform fault associated with large shallow earthquakes that forms the transpressional boundary between the Eurasian and Indian Plates. This zone consists of seismically active thrust and strike-slip faults that have accommodated crustal deformation since the beginning of the formation of the Himalayan orogeny. These earthquakes tend to display strike-slip faulting due to its abundance and high deformation rate.[5]
Earthquake
[edit]The earthquake's epicenter was located in Kuz Kunar District, Nangarhar Province, near the border with Nurgal District in Kunar Province, 27 km (17 mi) east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad and 25 km (16 mi) west of the border with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It had a hypocenter 8 km (5.0 mi) beneath the surface, and a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VII–VIII (Very strong–Severe) in the epicentral area, VI (Strong) at Jalalabad, and IV (Light) at Kabul and the Pakistani city of Peshawar.[2] Tremors were also felt in Islamabad, Lahore, and in parts of India, including Delhi.[6] At least 13 aftershocks were reportedly felt,[7] including a mb 4.5 event at 21:33 UTC[8] and two measuring mb 5.2 at 21:33 and 23:46 UTC, respectively.[9][10]
Impact
[edit]At least 250 people were killed and over 500 others were injured in Kunar Province.[11][12] Entire villages were reportedly reduced to rubble. Hundreds of casualites were feared in Nurgal District alone.[7] In the village of Mazar-e-Dara, dozens of fatalities, nearly a hundred injuries and numerous collapsed homes were reported,[13] while another village reported 21 fatalities. Roads in Kunar were blocked by landslides caused by the earthquake, aftershocks and heavy rains, preventing many areas from being accessed quickly.[7] In Nangarhar Province, nine people were killed and 30 others were injured.[7] All fatalities and 20 of the injuries in the province occurred in Darai Nur District.[13]
Response
[edit]Hours after the earthquake, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that local officials and volunteers had conducted rescue operations and provided aid to affected areas.[13] Due to having limited resources, Afghan officials requested relief from international aid organisations. Many volunteers in Nangarhar Province visited hospitals to donate blood to injured victims. Four helicopters carrying medical staff arrived at Nurgal District.[7]
See also
[edit]
- List of earthquakes in 2025
- List of earthquakes in Afghanistan
- September 2022 Afghanistan earthquake
- June 2022 Afghanistan earthquake
- 2013 Laghman earthquake
- April 2009 Afghanistan earthquake
References
[edit]- ^ "USGS earthquake catalog". United States Geological Survey.
- ^ a b ANSS. "M 6.0 - 27 km ENE of Jalālābād, Afghanistan 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
- ^ Wheeler, Russell L.; Bufe, Charles G.; Johnson, Margo L.; Dart, Richard L. (2005). "Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography" (PDF). Open-File Report 2005–1264. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ Kufner, Sofia-Katerina; Kakar, Najibullah; Bezada, Maximiliano; Bloch, Wasja; Metzger, Sabrina; Yuan, Xiaohui; Mechie, James; Ratschbacher, Lothar; Murodkulov, Shokhruhk; Deng, Zhiguo; Schurr, Bernd (16 March 2021). "The Hindu Kush slab break-off as revealed by deep structure and crustal deformation". Nature Communications. 12 (1685): 1685. Bibcode:2021NatCo..12.1685K. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-21760-w. PMC 7966371. PMID 33727553.
- ^ Shnizai, Zakeria (26 June 2020). "Mapping of active and presumed active faults in Afghanistan by interpretation of 1-arcsecond SRTM anaglyph images". Journal of Seismology. 24 (6): 1131–1157. Bibcode:2020JSeis..24.1131S. doi:10.1007/s10950-020-09933-4. S2CID 220063065. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ Robles, Carlos (31 August 2025). "At least 9 killed after 6.0 earthquake strikes northeastern Afghanistan". BNO News. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Dozens feared dead in fatal Afghanistan earthquake". BBC News. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ ANSS. "M 4.5 - 10 km N of Bāsawul, Afghanistan 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
- ^ ANSS. "M 5.2 - 39 km NE of Jalālābād, Afghanistan 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
- ^ ANSS. "M 5.2 - 28 km NE of Jalālābād, Afghanistan 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
- ^ "At least 250 killed in 6.0-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan". NBC News. August 31, 2025. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
- ^ "Earthquake wreaks havoc in Afghanistan's Kunar province; over 250 dead, 500 injured". TRT World. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ a b c "طالبان: زلزله ځپلو سیمو ته د ژغورنې ټیمونه په لاره دي". Tawazon (in Punjabi). 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.