Deadly 6.3 Quake Rocks Afghanistan: Viral Footage Captures Chaos as Toll Climbs

A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake jolted northern Afghanistan early Monday, claiming at least seven lives and wounding more than 150 others in the bustling city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Reuters reported, citing the local health directorate.

The U.S. Geological Survey pegged the tremor at 6.3 on the Richter scale—slightly higher than initial 6.2 estimates—and recorded it at a shallow depth of 28 kilometers. The agency promptly issued an orange alert through its PAGER system, warning of likely significant casualties and widespread impact in a region home to over half a million residents.

Dramatic CCTV footage from a Mazar-e-Sharif residence has spread rapidly online, freezing the exact instant walls buckled and furniture toppled. Additional clips circulating on X depict frantic rescue crews clawing through collapsed masonry, retrieving bodies and searching for survivors amid dust-choked ruins.

Afghanistan’s national disaster management agency told Reuters that full casualty and damage assessments remain pending as operations intensify. Authorities cautioned that the death count could rise sharply.

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Monday’s disaster echoes a devastating August quake—initially measured at magnitude 6.0—that killed at least 2,200 people and injured thousands more, according to the Taliban administration. Earlier Taliban estimates had placed the toll at 1,400 dead and over 3,000 hurt before final tallies emerged.

Nestled along the collision zone of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, the Hindu Kush region routinely suffers intense seismic activity. Shallow quakes like these unleash maximum surface energy, amplifying destruction in vulnerable communities still rebuilding from prior catastrophes.

As daylight revealed crumpled homes and panicked crowds, emergency teams raced to reach trapped victims under strict gender-segregation protocols that have complicated past relief efforts. For now, Mazar-e-Sharif remains on edge, braced for aftershocks and an uncertain final toll.