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The 6.5 magnitude earthquake drove people from their homes
At least 12 people were killed and more than 40 injured after a powerful earthquake struck large parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The 6.5 magnitude tremor damaged buildings, triggered landslides and forced people into the streets.
It hit local time on Tuesday evening and was focused on Afghanistan’s earthquake-prone Jurm Valley.
The remoteness of the sparsely populated area is likely to slow relief and rescue work.
“It was a terrible tremor. I had never felt such a tremor in my life,” Kabul-based Khatera told AFP after storming out of her fifth-floor apartment.
Nine of the confirmed deaths were reported in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa valley region of Pakistan.
Three others were killed in Afghanistan, the spokesman for the country’s health ministry said. A child was among those killed in Laghman province near the country’s border with Pakistan, AFP reported.
Many families were out of their homes to celebrate the Persian New Year, or Norwuz, when the quake struck.
In neighboring Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked civil protection authorities to take emergency measures to help the people.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, tremors were felt in a 1,000 km area stretching across India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
Earthquakes are more likely in this region as it lies at the intersection of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
With additional BBC Urdu coverage in Islamabad