KABUL, Afghanistan – At least 1,000 people are dead and 1,500 are hurt after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Afghanistan on Wednesday.
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The earthquake struck a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, flattening stone and mud-brick homes and killing at least 1,000 people, according to The Associated Press. The temblor, which could be felt as far as 310 miles away, destroyed structures in rural Khost and Paktika provinces, the AP reported.
The quake was Afghanistan’s deadliest in two decades, and officials said the toll could rise. An estimated 1,500 others were reported injured, the state-run news agency told AP.
The quake was centered in Paktika province, about 31 miles southwest of the city of Khost, according to neighboring Pakistan’s Meteorological Department. Experts put its depth at just 6 miles. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage.
At least 2,000 homes have been destroyed, where on average every household has seven or eight people living in it, said Ramiz Alakbarov, the U.N. deputy special representative to Afghanistan.
Taliban government deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi took to social media to urge “all agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe,” the AP reported. Meanwhile, Ramiz Alakbarov, the United Nations’ resident coordinator in Afghanistan, tweeted that the agency is “assessing the needs and responding” in the quake’s aftermath.
“Our condolences to the families of (the) deceased, response is on its way,” he wrote.
In this photo released by a state-run news agency Bakhtar, Afghans evacuate wounded in an earthquake in the province of Paktika, eastern Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
In this photo released by a state-run news agency Bakhtar, Afghans look at destruction caused by an earthquake in the province of Paktika, eastern Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
Afghan boys site near their damaged house that was destroyed in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported.
In this photo released by a state-run news agency Bakhtar, Afghans look at destruction caused by an earthquake in the province of Paktika, eastern Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
An Afghan man holds a child inside a hospital that was injured in an earthquake in Gayan district, Paktika province on June 22, 2022.
An Afghan villager collects his belongings from under the rubble of his home that was destroyed in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported.
Afghan villagers sit outside a tent after their house was damaged in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported.
An Afghan villager collects his belongings from under the rubble of his home that was destroyed in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported.
An Afghan villager collects his belongings from under the rubble of his home that was destroyed in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported.
An Afghan villager sits near his damaged house that was destroyed in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported.
KHOST, AFGHANISTAN – JUNE 22: A view of a damaged building after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook Afghanistan at noon and killed at least 29 people, and injured 62 others in the Spera district of Khost province near Paktika province, Afghanistan on June 22, 2022.. The district chief, Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi, said the quake had destroyed about 500 houses in different parts of the district, adding that they were trying to assist the affected families in Khost.
Afghan people queue up in a line to donate blood for the earthquake victims being treated at a hospital in the city of Sharan after getting injured in an earthquake in Gayan district, Paktika province on June 22, 2022. (Photo by Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD SAHEL ARMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
KHOST, AFGHANISTAN – JUNE 22: An elder reacts to the devastation after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook Afghanistan at noon and killed at least 29 people, and injured 62 others in the Spera district of Khost province near Paktika province, Afghanistan on June 22, 2022.. The district chief, Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi, said the quake had destroyed about 500 houses in different parts of the district, adding that they were trying to assist the affected families in Khost. (Photo by Sardar Shafaq/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
An Afghan girl stands near a house that was damaged by an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported. (AP Photo)
TOPSHOT – Damaged houses are pictured following an earthquake in Gayan district, Paktika province on June 22, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
Afghan children stand near a house that was destroyed in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported. (AP Photo)
TOPSHOT – An Afghan child is treated inside a hospital in the city of Sharan after getting injured in an earthquake in Gayan district, Paktika province on June 22, 2022. (Photo by Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD SAHEL ARMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
KHOST, AFGHANISTAN – JUNE 22: A view of debris after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook Afghanistan at noon and killed at least 29 people, and injured 62 others in the Spera district of Khost province near Paktika province, Afghanistan on June 22, 2022.. The district chief, Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi, said the quake had destroyed about 500 houses in different parts of the district, adding that they were trying to assist the affected families in Khost. (Photo by Sardar Shafaq/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Afghan villagers collects belongings from under the rubble of a home that was destroyed in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.