Earthquake
Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 920 people: Official
A powerful earthquake struck a rural, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 920 people and injuring 600 others in the deadliest temblor in two decades, authorities said. Officials warned that the already grim toll would likely rise.
Information remained scarce on the magnitude 6.1 temblor near the Pakistani border, but quakes of that strength would be expected to cause severe damage in the remote area, where homes and other buildings are poorly constructed and landslides are common.
Rescue efforts are likely to be complicated since many international aid agencies left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country last year and the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. military from the longest war in its history. Rescuers rushed to the area by helicopter.
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Neighboring Pakistan’s Meteorological Department said the quake's epicenter was in Afghanistan's Paktika province, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the city of Khost. Buildings were also damaged in Khost province. The U.S. Geological Survey, which recorded the magnitude at slightly lower at 5.9, put the depth at just 10 kilometers (6 miles) — another factor that could increase the damage.
Footage from Paktika showed people being carried into helicopters to be airlifted from the area. Others were treated on the ground. One resident could be seen receiving IV fluids while sitting in a plastic chair outside the rubble of his home and still more were sprawled on gurneys. Some images showed residents picking through clay bricks and other rubble from destroyed stone houses.
The death toll, given by Afghan emergency official Sharafuddin Muslim, made it the deadliest quake since 2002, when a 6.1 magnitude temblor killed about 1,000 people in northern Afghanistan immediately after the U.S.-led invasion overthrew the Taliban government following the 9/11 attacks.
Earlier, the director-general of state-run Bakhtar news agency, Abdul Wahid Rayan, wrote on Twitter that 90 houses have been destroyed in Paktika and dozens of people are believed trapped under the rubble.
“We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe,” Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, wrote on Twitter.
In Kabul, Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund convened an emergency meeting at the presidential palace to coordinate the relief effort for victims in Paktika and Khost.
The “response is on its way,” the U.N. resident coordinator in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, wrote on Twitter.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a statement offered his condolences over the earthquake, saying his nation will provide help to the Afghan people. At the Vatican, Pope Francis offered prayers for all those killed and injured and for the “suffering of the dear Afghan population.”
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In just one district of Khost province, the earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured over 95 others, local officials said.
Some remote areas of Pakistan saw reports of damage to homes near the Afghan border, but it wasn't immediately clear if that was due to rain or the earthquake, said Taimoor Khan, a disaster management spokesperson in the area.
The European seismological agency, EMSC, said the earthquake’s tremors were felt over 500 kilometers (310 miles) by 119 million people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Mountainous Afghanistan and the larger region of South Asia along the Hindu Kush mountains has long been vulnerable to devastating earthquakes.
In 2015, a major earthquake that struck the country’s northeast killed over 200 people in Afghanistan and neighboring northern Pakistan. In 1998, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tremors in Afghanistan’s remote northeast killed at least 4,500 people.
Powerful quake off north Japan kills 4, more than 90 injured
A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan on Wednesday night, smashing furniture, knocking out power and killing four people. A small tsunami reached shore, but the low-risk advisory was lifted by Thursday morning.
The region is part of northern Japan that was devastated by a deadly 9.0 quake and tsunami 11 years ago that caused nuclear reactor meltdowns, spewing massive radiation that still makes some parts uninhabitable.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a parliamentary session Thursday morning that four people died during the quake and the cause of their deaths are being investigated, while 97 others were injured. A man in his 60s in Soma city died after falling from the second floor of his house while trying to evacuate, and a man in his 70s panicked and suffered a heart attack, Kyodo News reported earlier.
Read:Magnitude 6.2 earthquake kills 7 on Indonesia’s Sumatra
The Japan Meteorological Agency early Thursday lifted its low-risk advisory for a tsunami along the coasts of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures. Tsunami waves of 30 centimeters (11 inches) reached shore in Ishinomaki, about 390 kilometers (242 miles) northeast of Tokyo.
The agency upgraded the magnitude of the quake to 7.4 from the initial 7.3, and the depth from 60 kilometers (36 miles) below the sea to 56 kilometers (35 miles).
NHK footage showed broken walls of a department store building fell to the ground and shards of windows scattered on the street near the main train station in the inland prefectural capital of Fukushima city. Roads were cracked and water poured out from pipes underground.
Footage also showed furniture and appliances smashed to the floor at apartments in Fukushima. Cosmetics and other merchandise at convenience stores fell from shelves and scattered on the floor. In Yokohama, near Tokyo, an electric pole nearly fell.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant where the cooling systems failed after the 2011 disaster, said workers found no abnormalities at the site, which is being decommissioned.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said a fire alarm went off at the turbine building of No. 5 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi but there was no actual fire. Water pumps for the spent fuel cooling pool at two of the four reactors at Fukushima Daini briefly stopped, but later resumed operation. Fukushima Daini, which survived the 2011 tsunami, is also set for decommissioning.
More than 2.2 million homes were temporarily without electricity in 14 prefectures, including the Tokyo region, but power was restored at most places by the morning, except for about 37,000 homes in the hardest hit Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, according to the Tohoku Electric Power Co. which services the region.
The quake shook large parts of eastern Japan, including Tokyo, where buildings swayed violently.
East Japan Railway Co. said most of its train services were suspended for safety checks. Some local trains later resumed service.
Many people formed long lines outside of major stations while waiting for trains to resume operation late Wednesday, but trains in Tokyo operated normally Thursday morning.
A Tohoku Shinkansen express train partially derailed between Fukushima and Miyagi due to the quake, but nobody was injured, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
He told reporters that the government was assessing the extent of damage and promised to do its utmost for rescue and relief operations.
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“Please first take action to save your life,” Kishida tweeted.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said authorities were scrambling to assess damage. “We are doing our utmost in rescue operations and putting people’s lives first,” he said.
He urged residents in the affected areas to use extra caution for possible major aftershocks for about a week.
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake kills 7 on Indonesia’s Sumatra
A strong and shallow earthquake shook Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Friday, killing seven people and injuring 85, while causing panic on the island and in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck about 66 kilometers (41 miles) north-northwest of Bukittinggi, a hilly town in West Sumatra province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) below the Earth’s surface.
At least four people, including two children, were killed in Pasaman district and three people died in the neighboring district of West Pasaman. At least 410 houses and buildings were damaged, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
More than 5,000 people fled their homes to temporary shelters, mostly in devastated areas of Pasaman and West Pasaman districts, agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement.
“We are still focusing on search and rescue efforts for the victims,” Muhari said.
Authorities were still investigating the full extent of the damage.
Also read: 6.1 earthquake kills seven in Indonesia's West Sumatra
People ran out of their houses looking for safer places when the earthquake struck, said Ahmad Nur, a resident of Talamau village in West Pasaman district. He said he was preparing to open his shop in a nearby market and returned home to check on his family. His house was damaged and his wife was in pain because her leg had been hit by debris, he said.
“Thank God ... my wife and our two kids managed to escape when the walls started to tumble,” Nur said. “The quake destroyed everything in my house, but I’m grateful that my wife and children are safe ... with only minor injuries.”
He said he and other survivors set up makeshift tents near the government office and were awaiting relief from the government or volunteers.
Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency, said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks.
Television reports showed panicked people rushing into the streets in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, and patients in a hospital in West Pasaman being evacuated from the building. The reports also showed streams filled with mud from landslides triggered by the earthquake, and a mosque, a school and several houses that were flattened.
People in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore also felt the tremors. A video on social media showed residents gathering in the streets after high-rise buildings in Kuala Lumpur swayed for a few seconds. Witnesses said their doors and chairs shook and photos and paintings swayed on the walls.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 270 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 105 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.
A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
6.1 earthquake kills seven in Indonesia's West Sumatra
At least seven people died and 85 people were injured after an earthquake shook several areas in West Sumatra on Friday, said the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB).
The agency’s spokesperson Abdul Muhari said over 5,000 people have been temporarily moved to 35 evacuation sites in West Pasaman district due to the magnitude 6.1 earthquake.
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Search and rescue involving the deployment of personnel from various rescue agencies, military and police are still ongoing in the affected areas, he said in a statement.
The quake, which was revised from an initial magnitude of 6.2, also destroyed dozens buildings and over 1,000 houses.
Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity.
Earthquake jolts Dhaka, other areas
A 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook Dhaka, Chattogram and some other parts of the country on Friday afternoon, said the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The tremor was felt around 4:12 pm.
Read: Earthquake: 3 buildings tilt in Chattogram
According to the USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake was at a depth of 56.8 kilometers (35.29 miles) near Falam, Myanmar.
However, no casualties were reported so far.
Twin earthquakes in western Afghanistan kill at least 22
Two earthquakes rattled Afghanistan’s western Badghis province along the border with Turkmenistan on Monday afternoon, killing at least 22 people, a local official said.
There were fears the death toll could rise further as the first rescuers reached some of the remote villages struck by the temblors in what is one of Afghanistan’s most impoverished and underdeveloped regions.
Bas Mohammad Sarwari, chief of the province’s culture and information department, said scores of homes were destroyed in the quakes.
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The U.S. Geological Survey registered a magnitude 5.3 quake at 2 p.m. and a second, magnitude 4.9 at 4 p.m. local time. They struck 41 kilometers (25 miles) east and 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of Qala-e-Naw, the provincial capital.
Sarwari says frightened residents were fleeing their homes for safety.
The more powerful of the temblors hit Qadis district in the southern tip of the province, where the majority of the damage and deaths occurred, according to Sarwari. Officials were still gathering information. By nightfall only four villages had been heard from, he said. The first 4.9 quake was centered in Muqur district, he said.
“Tomorrow we have plan to send rescue teams as well as assistance for the affected families,” he said.
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Sarwari said the tremors were felt across the province. Some homes in Qala-e-Naw, the provincial capital, suffered cracks but no major injuries or widespread damage, he added.
Powerful earthquake shakes northern Taiwan
A powerful earthquake struck Taiwan on Monday evening, shaking buildings in the capital and across much of the northern part of the island. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured magnitude 6.2 and was centered at a depth of 28.7 kilometers (18 miles) below the ocean east of Hualien city on the island's east coast.
READ: 6.1 magnitude earthquake jolts Dhaka, other areas
Walls creaked as office buildings shook in Taipei, the capital. Lights swayed and mirrors and pictures fell to the floor.
The USGS said economic losses were expected to be low despite the strong shaking.
READ: Strong earthquake in southwest Pakistan kills at least 20
7.3 undersea quake in Indonesia triggers tsunami warning
A magnitude 7.3 undersea earthquake struck off Indonesia's Flores Island on Tuesday, and the country's meteorological agency warned that tsunami waves are possible.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake hit at a depth of 18.5 kilometers (11.5 miles) under the sea, and was located 112 kilometers (74 miles) north of the town of Maumere, the second-largest on the island in East Nusa Tenggara province with a population of 85,000.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said residents in the area felt the earthquake strongly. TV footage showed people running away from buildings that shook from the impact.
Also raed: Strong earthquake in southwest Pakistan kills at least 20
“There is no damage information yet. But the quick reaction team is working to gather the information,” Muhari said.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 270 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines that arcs the Pacific.
The last major earthquake was in January, a magnitude 6.2 that killed at least 105 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.
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There are no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Tremor shakes parts of Bangladesh
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake shook different parts of the country including Chattogram on Saturday afternoon.
The tremor was felt around 3:47 pm, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
The epicentre of the earthquake was in the India-Myanmar border region, about 308 kms South-East off Dhaka, the BMD said.
Also read: 6.1 magnitude earthquake jolts Dhaka, other areas
However, there was no report of any damage, injury and casualty by the tremor so far.
In the early hours of Friday, a strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake jolted Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna and some other parts of the country. Its epicenter was at a depth of 32.8 kilometers (20.4 miles) near Hakha, Chin State, Myanmar, said the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Also read: Earthquake jolts Panchagarh
At least three buildings tilted in Chattogram city following the earthquake on Friday morning.
Magnitude 5.9 quake shakes Tokyo area; more than 30 injured
A powerful magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook the Tokyo area on Thursday night, injuring more than 30 people, damaging underground water pipes and halting trains and subways.
Officials said there was no danger of a tsunami but traffic disruptions continued the next morning, with local trains delayed and commuters overflowing rom stations.
The Meteorological Agency said the quake was centered in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo, at a depth of about 80 kilometers (48 miles).
Also read: Strong earthquake in southwest Pakistan kills at least 20
It caused buildings to sway and hanging objects such as signs to swing violently. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said there were no abnormalities at nuclear power facilities in the area.
Most trains operated Friday morning but with major delays and entry restrictions to avoid overcrowding. There was a long waiting line outside of Shinjuku station in Tokyo, and hundreds of morning commuters were overflowing from the Kawaguchi station.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Friday that 32 people were injured, three of them seriously, from the quake.
Police in Chiba prefecture, where 11 people were injured, said two women in separate locations sprained their ankles when they were thrown to the floor during the quake. A commuter train partially derailed in eastern Tokyo when it made an emergency stop, causing three passengers to fall and get slightly injured, according to the disaster management agency.
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Others were injured in Kanagawa, Saitama and Gunma prefectures.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said about 250 homes in downtown Tokyo temporarily lost power.
“Shinkansen” super express trains in and out of Tokyo were halted for safety checks but later resumed operation, East Japan Railway Co. said.
Tokyo’s Yamanote loop line and subways restarted late Thursday, but with major delays. Outside of Tokyo's Shinagawa station, where local trains were temporarily halted because of power outages, there was a long line of people trying to get taxis home.
Dozens of people in Tokyo, Kanagawa and Chiba were stranded at stations, and some took shelter at facilities set up by local municipalities.
Many elevators automatically stopped, including those at Tokyo's metropolitan government building, temporarily trapping some people.
Fire and disaster officials said underground water pipes were damaged in dozens of locations in Tokyo. In one district, water was gushing from the ground.
New Prime Minister Fumio Kishida posted a message on Twitter urging people to “check the latest information and take action to protect your lives.” He said it was the strongest shaking in Tokyo since March 2011.
Kishida returned to his office late Thursday to lead the government's response.