Afghanistan hit by third earthquake in a week.

A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck western Afghanistan early Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake, which was centered about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north-northwest of Herāt, followed a series of powerful tremors that killed more than a thousand.

The new earthquake has hit western Afghanistan - several days after two large tremors in the region killed more than 1,000 people.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) says the magnitude 6.3 quake struck near the city of Herat. It was at a depth of 6.3km (four miles).

So far there have been no reports of any casualties.

More than 90% of those who died in the earlier quakes were women and children, the UN's children agency Unicef said.

In its report, the USGS said the epicentre of the latest tremor was 30km north-west of Herat, Afghanistan's third-largest city close to the Iranian border.

Last Saturday's earthquake hit Zindajan, a rural district some 40km from Herat.

The tremor saw entire houses, which were too fragile to withstand the quake, reduced to rubble.

Villagers used shovels and bare hands to search for missing people.

Afghanistan has been reeling from an economic crisis since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when aid given directly to the government was stopped.

The country is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, as it lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

In June last year, the province of Paktika was hit by a 5.9 magnitude quake which killed more than 1,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless.

"This earthquake was preceded by three other M 6.3 earthquakes in the previous days," USGS said in a statement. "One M6.3 occurred on October 11th and two others occurred about 30 minutes apart on October 7th."

Sunday’s earthquake was registered at a depth of 6.3 km along the same fault planes on which the four most recent quakes struck, the USGS's statement said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News