Afghanistan's national news agency reports that a strong earthquake has caused at least 280 fatalities and many injuries.
Social media users posted images of the eastern Paktika province's destroyed homes, wreckage, and victims on stretchers.
More than 600 people were injured, according to a report by the Bakhtar News Agency, and the death toll was sure to grow.
About 44 kilometres (27 miles) away from the city of Khost in the southeast, the earthquake occurred.
Government spokesperson Bilal Karimi tweeted, "Unfortunately, yesterday night there was a violent earthquake in four districts of Paktika province, which killed and maimed hundreds of our compatriots and damaged dozens of dwellings."
To avert more devastation, we implore all relief organisations to dispatch personnel right away.
According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre, which was cited by Reuters, tremors were felt along more than 500 kilometres of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.
According to the centre, witnesses claimed to have felt the earthquake in Islamabad, Pakistan, as well as Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
According to BBC Urdu, the earthquake minimally damaged that area and no initial reports of deaths have been made.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake, which occurred in the wee hours while most people were still asleep, had a magnitude of 6.1 and occurred at a depth of around 51 kilometres.
In Afghanistan, earthquakes may inflict a great deal of damage, especially in the numerous rural areas where many homes are not as sturdy or well-built.
Due to its location in a seismically active area and its proximity to a variety of fault lines, including the Chaman fault, the Hari Rud fault, the Central Badakhshan fault, and the Darvaz fault, Afghanistan is also susceptible to earthquakes.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 7,000 people have perished in earthquakes in the nation during the previous ten years. Earthquakes cause 560 fatalities annually on average.