The Interior Ministry, on Monday revealed that a massive rescue operation was underway in Afghanistan after a strong earthquake and multiple aftershocks flattened homes in the impoverished nation, killing more than 600 people.

Recall that earthquake struck just before midnight, shaking buildings from Kabul to neighbouring Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.

Spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani told reporters that near the epicenter in the east of the country, 610 people were killed and 1,300 were injured in Kunar province, with numerous houses destroyed, adding that in neighbouring Nangarhar province 12 people were killed and another 255 injured.

Meanwhile, the Taliban authorities and the United Nations mobilised rescue efforts to hard-hit areas.

The UN in a statement on X, revealed that Afghanistan is deeply saddened by the devastating earthquake that struck the eastern region, and claimed hundreds of lives, saying teams were on the ground delivering emergency assistance & lifesaving support.

According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre of the quake, which struck at a relatively shallow depth of eight kilometres, was 27 kilometres from the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province

A series of aftershocks followed throughout the night, including a powerful and shallow 5.2-magnitude quake just after 4:00 am.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

Nangarhar province was also hit by flooding overnight Friday to Saturday, which killed five people and destroyed crops and property, provincial authorities said.

In June 2022, a 5.9-magnitude quake struck the impoverished eastern border province of Paktika, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.