VOA News
December 25, 2015
A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck northern Afghanistan early Saturday near the borders with Tajikistan and Pakistan, the U.S. Geological Survey said. At least 17 people were injured, initial reports said.
The survey said the quake, initially reported as magnitude 6.4, was centered 80 kilometers southeast of Feyzabad in the mountainous border area.
The injuries occurred when houses and walls collapsed in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar, city officials said.
The quake, which struck shortly after midnight local time, was also felt in the Afghan capital, Kabul. Pakistan’s Geo News reported that strong tremors were felt in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and in neighboring areas. Tremors were also felt as far away as India’s capital, New Delhi.
A magnitude-6.2 quake is considered strong and can cause severe damage.
The earthquake came two months after more than 300 people were killed by a magnitude-7.5 earthquake in the same mountainous region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In April, an earthquake in Nepal killed thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.
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