6.3-Magnitude Quake Kills At Least 20 in Afghanistan

A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck near Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan early Monday at a depth of about 28 km, killing at least 20 people and injuring hundreds, officials said, with the toll expected to rise. Rescue teams and military emergency units have been digging through rubble, transporting the injured and reopening highways blocked by landslides, but poor communications, damaged infrastructure and a sharp drop in foreign humanitarian aid have hampered access to remote, hard-hit villages. The quake caused landslides and widespread building damage and struck the 15th-century Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, where parts of a minaret and ornate tiles fell. The U.S. Geological Survey issued an orange PAGER alert saying significant casualties and widespread damage are likely. Experts warned that Afghanistan’s location at the junction of major tectonic plates and a recent string of deadly quakes make such disasters particularly devastating given the country’s limited response capacity.