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Magnitude 6.3 earthquake hits northern Afghanistan: USGS

russia Kuril Islands 6.3 magnitude
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A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan overnight Sunday into Monday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, two months after a tremor killed over 2,200 people in a country grappling with poverty and other woes.

The agency said the quake hit in northern Afghanistan at a revised depth of 28 kilometers (17 miles) in Kholm, near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. It was felt by AFP correspondents in the capital Kabul.

The agency had initially given the depth as just 10 km.

On August 31 the deadliest quake in recent Afghan history, measuring 6.0, struck in the country’s east, killing more than 2,200 people.

Earthquakes are common in the country, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.

Since 1900, northeastern Afghanistan has been hit by 12 quakes with a magnitude above 7, according to Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey.

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AFP

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.

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