At least 250 people killed in Afghanistan earthquake

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The death toll continues to rise

At least 250 people are thought to have been killed and more than 150 injured following an earthquake in Afghanistan. The quake measured 6.1 on the Richter scale, striking the province of Paktika initially but tremors were felt across more than 500km of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). https://twitter.com/BakhtarNA/status/1539481488307126273?s=20&t=b6KlGvOsxSOmTmGoQS_iZw A local government official told the BBC that the death toll and total number of injuries is expected to rise. The quake took place during the early hours of Wednesday morning and began at a depth of some 51km below the surface, according to the US Geological Survey. Residents in the Afghan capital of Kabul and further afield reported "strong and long jolts" as well as "terrible" and "dangerous shaking" on the EMSC's testimonies page, which also estimated that shaking and rumbles were was felt by approximately 119 million people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. So far, there have currently been no reports of related deaths or injuries outside of Afghanistan itself, with the majority of the casualties taking place in Paktika, where Afghan media has pictured numerous houses reduced to rubble. That being said, it is thought that the Afghanistan earthquake is the most significant and "deadliest" the region has seen in recent years, with the strongest ever recorded occurring back in 1956, when seismic activity climbed to 7.6 on the Richter scale. https://twitter.com/LastQuake/status/1539360232714944512?s=20&t=0P_UdHXHw2YrmXSftdJH9w