(Kabul) An earthquake of magnitude 4.6 was triggered Monday in Afghanistan, announced the American observatory USGS. Kabul felt this earthquake very strongly, the epicenter of which was a few dozen kilometers from the Afghan capital.
Published on July 6 2020 at 13 h 14
France Media Agency
According to the USGS, the earthquake occurred at 20 h 36 (12 h 06, ET) in Paghman district, which is in Kabul province. Ahmad Tamim Azimi, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Natural Disaster Management, confirmed the information to AFP after initially reporting a magnitude of 5.3.
No assessment has yet been communicated, nor any damage reported. But the shock was felt like a huge explosion all over Kabul, pushing the population to take refuge in the streets.
Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan are frequently shaken by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush range, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates collide.
On May 9 2018, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake had already been recorded in the north of Afghanistan. Felt up to Islamabad and Dushanbe, the capitals of Pakistan and Tajikistan, hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter, it had done little damage.
In October 2015, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 had killed 400 in Pakistan and in Afghanistan, destroying buildings on rough terrain that had hampered relief efforts.
