According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude 6.3 quake happened near Herat. It was located at a depth of 6.3 kilometers (four miles).

According to local health officials, at least one person has died.

According to the World Health Organization, another 100 people are being treated for injuries in the regional hospital.

According to Unicef, more over 90% of those killed in previous quakes were women and children.

According to the USGS, the epicentre of the latest tremor occurred 30 kilometers north-west of Herat, Afghanistan’s third-largest city near the Iranian border.

The earthquake on Saturday struck Zindajan, a rural district 40 kilometers from Herat.

The tremor reduced entire houses to rubble because they were too frail to survive the quake.

Villagers searched for missing people with shovels and their bare hands.

Yahya Kalilah, the head of Medicines Sans Frontières’ Afghanistan Programme, told the AFP news agency that injuries would be limited because people were already sleeping outside in tents.

“In terms of psychology, people are panicked and traumatised,” he went on to say.

“People do not feel safe. I can guarantee you that no one will sleep in their residence.”

The Taliban, who have ruled Afghanistan since 2021, will most likely be unable to survive in tents for more than a month once the winter sets in.

Afghanistan has been in the grip of an economic crisis since the Taliban took power, when help to the government was halted.

As it is at the confluence of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, the country is frequently struck by earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain region.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck the province of Paktika in June of last year, killing over 1,000 people and displacing tens of thousands.