An earthquake struck western Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least 26 people, according to an official.
The victims were killed when the roofs of their houses fell in the western province of Badghis, according to the province’s spokesman, Baz Mohammad Sarwary.
According to the US Geological Survey, the shallow quake had a magnitude of 5.3.
“Five women and four children were among the 26 dead in the earthquake,” Sarwary added, adding that four others were injured.
The quake also caused damage to residents of the province’s Muqr area, but specifics, including casualties, were still unavailable, he said.
Afghanistan is already in the grip of a humanitarian calamity, which was exacerbated by the Taliban’s takeover of the country in August, when Western countries stopped international aid and access to assets stored elsewhere.
Qadis is one of the locations hardest hit by a terrible drought, and it has received little international aid in the last 20 years.
Earthquakes strike the region often, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which is near the confluence of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
Earthquakes in impoverished Afghanistan can cause substantial damage to poorly constructed homes and businesses.
In 2015, a devastating 7.5-magnitude earthquake centered in the Himalayan range blasted across South Asia, killing roughly 280 people, the majority of whom died in Pakistan.
In that incident, 12 young Afghan girls were crushed to death in a stampede while fleeing their trembling school building.
