Strong earthquake hits western Afghanistan
The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
LONDON -- A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck western Afghanistan early Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The quake, which was centered about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north-northwest of Herāt, followed a series of powerful tremors that killed more than a thousand.
![PHOTO: An injured Afghan man being brought to a hospital following earthquake in Herat on October 15, 2023. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake shoopeople were killed in tremors last week. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/earthqu_hpMain_20231015-035906.jpg)
"This earthquake was preceded by three other M 6.3 earthquakes in the previous days," USGS said in a statement. "One M6.3 occurred on October 11th and two others occurred about 30 minutes apart on October 7th."
![PHOTO: Injured Afghan people being brought to a hospital following earthquake in Herat on October 15, 2023. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake shook western Afghanistan on October 15, the US Geological Survey said. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/earthqu_hpMain_20231015-035857.jpg)
Sunday’s earthquake was registered at a depth of 6.3 km along the same fault planes on which the four most recent quakes struck, the USGS's statement said.
ABC News' KJ Edelman contributed to this story.