Deadly 7.5-Magnitude Earthquake Kills Dozens In Asia

At least 150 people have died in Afghanistan and Pakistan after a powerful earthquake shook the region Monday.

Pakistani officials said at least 147 people were killed and nearly 600 more injured, while in Afghanistan, authorities report at least 33 dead and another 200 more injured. The death toll in both countries is expected to rise.

Officials said the powerful quake was felt from Kabul to Delhi, where power and communication lines were severed in some areas, the AP reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the 7.5-magnitude quake was in the Hindu Kush mountains near a remote area in the province of Badakhshan in northeast Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan, Tajikistan, and China.

According to the AP, Afghan president Ashraf Ghani sent condolences to the families of victims and appointed a special “assessment committee” to ensure emergency aid would be sent to those in the affected areas.

West of Badakhshan in Takhar province, 12 students were killed at a girls’ school in a stampede as people fled shaking buildings, said Sonatullah Taimor, a spokesman for the provincial governor. In Taluqan province, another 42 girls were taken to a hospital.

In Pakistan, the official death toll quickly climbed to 121 in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone, the provincial minister for the region reported.

Officials believe the quake was the strongest felt in recent times.

Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on earthquake: 'The strongest one felt in recent decades' – @usnews

— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) October 26, 2015