Moderate Earthquake Rattles Afghanistan

Northern Afghanistan was rattled by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake Monday afternoon, but there is a “low likelihood of causalities and damage” according to the United States Geological Survey. Initial reports say the tremor struck at a depth of 114.7 miles. The epicenter was located about 42 miles from the district of Fayzabad in Badakhshan Province. The jolt was also felt in northern Pakistan and India.

Meanwhile, Japan put their official death toll from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami at over 8,000 on Monday. Thousands of people remain missing. Authorities expect the final death toll to reach over 20,000.

The situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant took a turn for the worse Monday when workers had to be evacuated because a leaking reactor began producing smoke. The evacuation caused a setback in efforts to restore power to the reactors and their cooling systems.

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