Afghanistan, a mountainous country, has a long history of powerful earthquakes. Several factors make these earthquakes particularly destructive.
Afghanistan's mountainous terrain makes it prone to strong earthquakes, many of which occur in the powerful Hindu Kush region along the Pakistani border.
Death tolls often rise when remote areas are hit, and decades of war have damaged infrastructure, complicating relief and rescue operations.
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the populated northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan in 2023, killing at least 13 people in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan.
A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck the Hindu Kush region in 2015, killing 399 people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. It was one of the largest earthquakes in Afghanistan's recorded history.
An earthquake in the Hindu Kush killed 848 people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Soviet Union.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake on the border of Afghanistan and Iran killed more than 1,500 people in both countries and destroyed more than 10,000 homes in 1997.
Takhar, February-May 1998:
A powerful earthquake struck the remote northeastern province of Takhar in February 1998, killing at least 2,300 people. Some estimates placed the death toll as high as 4,000.
Three months later, another earthquake struck the same region, killing 4,700 people.