FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 houses were confirmed destroyed in the northern Badakhshan province due to the earthquake that jolted Afghanistan and parts of the neighboring countries on Wednesday, spokesman for Badakhshan provincial government Nik Mohammad Nazari said Thursday.
"Our preliminary reports suggest that 20 houses were destroyed in Jarm and Shuhada districts due to the quake on Wednesday," Nazari told Xinhua.
He also said that a delegation had been sent to the quake affected area to survey the exact damage to the properties and possible loss of life and report back to the provincial government.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Kabul, northern and northeastern regions of Afghanistan at 11:40 a.m. local time on Wednesday, and Jarm district in the northern Badakhshan province was the hardest-hit area, according to local officials.
Meantime, an elder from the neighboring Shuhada district, Hajji Mohammad Yusuf, told Xinhua that dozens of residential houses were damaged and numerous people sustained injuries in the quake.
However, head of the Natural Disaster Management Authority in the northeast Badakhshan province, Sayed Abdullah Hamayon Deqan, told Xinhua that survey was underway to determine the exact number of the houses damaged, destroyed or possible casualties of people in the province.
