Earthquakes

At least five killed as magnitude 5.5 earthquake hits Bangladesh

Dozens more injured as buildings in the capital swayed in the earthquake, sending panicked residents into streets.

Afghan earthquake survivors face winter cold after deadly quakes

An Afghan man stands in front of his damaged house, in the aftermath of an earthquake at a village in the Khulm district of Samangan province. [AFP]

Survivors of a powerful earthquake in northern Afghanistan are digging through the rubble of their homes after spending bitterly cold nights outdoors. [AFP]

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake in northern Afghanistan has killed at least 27 people and injured nearly 1,000, the Health Ministry said on November 4, announcing the end of rescue operations. [AFP]

Survivors of a powerful earthquake in northern Afghanistan are digging through the rubble of their homes after spending a bitterly cold night outdoors.

The tremor also damaged historical sites, including Afghanistan’s famed Blue Mosque in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which is one of Afghanistan’s most revered religious landmarks. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Afghan shopkeepers search the remains of their damaged shops along a highway, at Tang-e Tashkurgan in the Khulm district. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Afghan men check a damaged truck along a highway, following an earthquake at Tang-e Tashkurgan in the Khulm district of Samangan province. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Shopkeepers sit in front of their damaged shops in the Khulm district of Samangan province. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Impoverished Afghanistan often faces difficulty in responding to natural disasters, especially in remote regions. Buildings tend to be low-rise constructions, mostly of concrete and brick, with homes in rural and outlying areas made from mud bricks and wood, many poorly built. [AFP]

Trucks drive along a highway past a mountain range, in the aftermath of an earthquake at Tang-e Tashkurgan in Khulm district, Samangan province. [AFP]

A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake has shaken northern Afghanistan, killing at least 20 people and injuring over 500.

Earthquake survivors search through the remains of a damaged house in Tashqurghan in the Khulm district of Samangan province. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

People search through the debris of damaged buildings. [Reuters]

Falling rocks along a highway damaged a truck. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Shopkeepers search through the rubble of their shops along a highway. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

The quake damaged or destroyed 800 houses in one village in the Shahr-e-Bozorg district, says Ihsanullah Kamgar, spokesperson for the Badakhshan provincial police headquarters. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Yousaf Hammad, a spokesperson for the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, says most of the injured suffered minor wounds and were discharged after treatment. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, says 534 injured people and 20 bodies had been brought to hospitals in Balkh and Samangan provinces. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to quakes because it lies on two active faults that have the potential to shift and cause extensive damage. [Atif Aryan/AFP]