Magnitude 6.2 earthquake jolts western Afghanistan: USGS

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit western Afghanistan on Saturday morning, the United States Geological Survey said, with the epicentre close to the region’s largest city.

The USGS said the epicentre was 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of the city of Herat, and was followed by an aftershock with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale.

An AFP journalist in the city said residents and shopkeepers fled buildings when the quake hit around 11:00 am (0630 GMT), but that there were not yet reports of casualties or structural damage.

In June last year, more than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands made homeless after a 5.9-magnitude quake — the deadliest in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century — struck the impoverished province of Paktika.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.