A strong earthquake struck northern Afghanistan early Monday, killing at least 19 people and injuring hundreds more, though the death toll is expected to rise.

In the town of Khulm, near the epicenter, people dug through the rubble of collapsed mud brick homes with shovels and picked through debris to salvage what belongings they could.

A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 640 others, as well as damaging the historic Blue Mosque, officials said.

KABUL, Afghanistan — A powerful, magnitude 6.3 earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 640 others, a disaster management official said.

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan on Aug. 31 near the border with Pakistan, killing more than 2,200 people. On Oct. 7, 2023, a magnitude 6.3 quake followed by strong aftershocks left at least 4,000 people dead, according to the Taliban government.

A 6.3-magnitude quake near Mazar-e Sharif exposed Afghanistans seismic threat. Experts explained how the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates causes deadly, frequent tremors.

At least 20 people died and 643 others were injured after the tremors, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority said

Hemmed in by rugged mountains, Afghanistan is prone to a range of natural disasters, but its earthquakes cause the most fatalities, killing about 560 people on average each year and causing annual damages estimated at $80 million. Studies indicate at least 355 earthquakes with a magnitude higher than 5.0 have hit Afghanistan since 1990.