Severe Earthquake in Afghanistan - 2002-03-27

Afghan officials report that over one thousand five hundred people have died as a result of a severe earthquake that struck northern Afghanistan last night. Approximately four thousand people are reported injured, and thousands have fled their homes in Baghlan province. Reports indicate that the earthquake has leveled the city of Nahrin, the capital of Baghlan province. The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale, and aftershocks continued for several hours. The Afghan Red Crescent Society states that a medical relief team has been sent to the earthquake-affected area, and relief supplies are being dispatched by a United Nations convoy from Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. According to local officials, the most damage occurred in the Nahrin area, located 120 kilometers north of Kabul. The earthquake also shook buildings in the capital of Afghanistan and was felt in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. Northern Afghanistan is a seismically active region, and just three weeks ago, an earthquake in Samangan province killed seventy people. Afghan officials fear that the death toll from last night's severe earthquake could rise to between one thousand eight hundred and two thousand. They report that around four thousand people have been injured, and thousands have fled their homes in Baghlan province. Reports indicate that the earthquake has leveled the city of Nahrin, the capital of Baghlan province. The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale, and aftershocks continued for several hours. The Afghan Red Crescent Society states that a medical relief team has been sent to the earthquake-affected area, and relief supplies are being dispatched by a United Nations convoy from Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. According to local officials, the most damage occurred in the Nahrin area, located 120 kilometers north of Kabul. The earthquake also shook buildings in the capital of Afghanistan and was felt in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. Northern Afghanistan is a seismically active region, and just three weeks ago, an earthquake in Samangan province killed seventy people.