A powerful earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region of northeastern Afghanistan on Saturday evening, sending tremors across much of South and Central Asia. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude of 6.1 at a depth of 208 kilometres, while India’s National Centre for Seismology (NCS) reported a magnitude of 6.2 at a depth of 215 kilometres. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) gave a magnitude of 6.0 and a shallower depth of 100 kilometres. The deep origin meant that surface shaking was moderated, but vibrations travelled widely, with reports of the quake being felt from the Afghan capital Kabul to the Pakistani capital Islamabad, across northern India, and into Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In Afghanistan, the tremor was felt in multiple provinces, including Khost, Nangarhar, Balkh, and Badakhshan. An AFP journalist in Kabul reported a large crack appearing across an internal wall, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or widespread structural damage, according to local authorities and medical sources. In Pakistan, residents of Swat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa described panic, with people rushing outdoors and women and children crying, though no injuries were reported there either. Uzbek seismologists said the quake was felt at intensities of up to 4 in several regions, while in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, residents also reported noticeable shaking.

The absence of confirmed casualties several hours after the event may reflect the quake’s considerable depth, which often reduces surface destruction. However, communication networks and infrastructure in Afghanistan’s mountainous areas are poor, and authorities have sometimes taken hours or days to reach remote villages to assess damage. The country is highly vulnerable to earthquakes, lying at the collision zone of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Recent years have seen deadly quakes: a shallow magnitude-6.0 tremor in August 2025 killed more than 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan, and a magnitude-5.8 quake in Badakhshan this April left 12 dead.

The Hindu Kush event came hours after a separate, moderate earthquake of magnitude 5.4–5.5 struck Pakistan’s Balochistan province earlier on Saturday, causing minor damage to mud houses but no reported fatalities. Seismologists note that the region is experiencing a period of heightened activity, though no direct link between the two events has been established. Monitoring by national and international agencies continues, and any updates on casualties or damage are awaited.