5.1-magnitude earthquake hits Afghanistan's Fayzabad; third in 4 months

An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hit Fayzabad, Afghanistan on Tuesday morning, the National Center for Seismology said.

The earthquake struck 89 kilometre east of Fayzabad and had a depth of 112 km.

"Earthquake of Magnitude:5.1, Occurred on 11-10-2022, 04:53:06 IST, Lat: 36.91 & Long: 71.53, Depth: 112 Km, Location: 89km ESE of Fayzabad, Afghanistan," the National Center for Seismology tweeted.

This quake follows June 22 earthquake that struck south-eastern Afghanistan, leading to wide-scale destruction across already vulnerable districts in Paktika, Paktya and Khost provinces.

A second 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred on July 18, with an epicentre in Spera district, only 3 km from the epicentre of the June 22 earthquake.

In addition to the loss of life and devastating injury, the earthquake resulted in the destruction of critical infrastructure -- including homes, health facilities, schools and water networks -- leaving thousands vulnerable to further harm.

The multi-sectoral Emergency Earthquake Appeal estimates that approximately 362,000 people live in high-intensity impact areas, while needs assessments conducted to date indicate that over 100,000 people have been directly affected, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

A total of USD 110.3 million is urgently required to frontload life-saving response activities for an initial period of three months (July-September), with priority given to the most affected districts in the provinces of Paktika and Khost.

As of July 28, approximately USD 44 million has been pledged for the response. "The information presented in the dashboard is based on best available confirmed data and will adjust as further verified assessment and response information is received," OCHA said.