Earthquake today: 5.0-magnitude tremor hits Afghanistan, a day after 6.2 quake

“EQ of M: 5.0, On: 05/09/2025 22:55:53 IST, Lat: 34.45 N, Long: 70.41 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Afghanistan,” National Centre for Seismology said on X.

The earlier earthquake, occurring at a shallow depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), was registered at coordinates 34.57°N latitude and 70.75°E longitude. It followed a string of quakes in eastern Afghanistan that, just days before, claimed the lives of over 2,200 people and injured more than 3,600. Numerous villages were completely destroyed, leaving tens of thousands homeless as rescue and relief efforts persist in the affected provinces.

According to Naqibullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the health department in Nangarhar province, its epicentre was in the remote Shiwa district near the Pakistan border, which resulted into damage in the Barkashkot area as per initial reports, Reuters reported.

Aalem Jan, whose house in the worst-affected province of Kunar was hit by the tremors, said, “Everything we had has been destroyed. The only remaining things are these clothes on our backs.”

Earlier quakes this year

One of Afghanistan’s devastating earthquakes in recent years of magnitude 6 was struck on August 31, wreaking havoc in the Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, followed by a second earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale struck two days after the first, triggering panic and halting rescue operations as it caused landslides and blocked access to remote villages. Authorities stated that over 6,700 homes have been destroyed. The United Nations has warned that the death toll may increase, with many people still trapped beneath the debris and the window for finding survivors quickly closing.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies mentioned that humanitarians needs are “vast and growing rapidly”, adding, “Up to 84,000 people are directly and indirectly affected, with thousands displaced.”

John Aylieff, the head of the UN World Food Programme in the country, told Reuters on Wednesday that they have enough funding and supplies to assist survivors for only four more weeks. Jacopo Caridi from the Norwegian Refugee Council urged donors to extend their support beyond immediate life-saving aid, emphasising the need to give Afghans hope for a future that moves beyond constant crisis.

“The earthquake should serve as a stark reminder: Afghanistan cannot be left to face one crisis after another alone,” he said.

(With inputs from Reuters)