Landslides and damaged roads slow rescue efforts
A powerful magnitude-6 earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, killing over 800 people and injuring around 2,500, Taliban officials reported. Emergency teams are struggling to reach remote mountain communities due to landslides and destroyed roads.
The tremor’s epicenter was near the Pakistan border, with Kunar province suffering the most severe impact. Its shallow depth intensified the damage, and aftershocks continued into Monday, shaking areas as far as Kabul, over 100 miles from the epicenter.
Hospitals overwhelmed with casualties
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the death toll is expected to rise, as many residents remain trapped under debris. Hospitals in Asadabad and surrounding districts are inundated with injured patients.
Rasheed Khan, a trader from Kabul whose family lived in Watpur village, said he lost his wife, three children, and two brothers. “I don’t know how many relatives are still buried beneath the rubble,” he said.
Relief operations face major challenges
Afghanistan’s defence ministry dispatched doctors and emergency supplies to Kunar, but several villages can only be accessed by air due to blocked roads and landslides. Taliban officials called for urgent support from humanitarian organizations, including medical aid, clean water, food, tents, and rescue equipment.
The country’s healthcare system, already fragile since the Taliban regained power in 2021, is struggling to cope. Jeremy Smith of the Red Cross said rescue operations are particularly difficult given the remote terrain and ongoing aftershocks.
Villages flattened, hundreds still missing
Mud and stone homes were destroyed throughout Kunar. In Masood village, nearly every household suffered fatalities, with rescuers estimating up to 250 deaths. Laghman and Nuristan provinces also reported casualties, though full assessments are still underway.
Muhammad Aziz, a laborer from Nur Gul district, said ten of his relatives, including five children, were killed. “Every home has collapsed, and people are digging with their hands to rescue those trapped,” he said.
International assistance mobilized
China has pledged disaster relief, and India has sent food and tents to affected areas. The United Nations is preparing emergency aid, while Pope Leo expressed condolences to families mourning the dead.
The earthquake adds to Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, with economic collapse, returning refugees from Pakistan and Iran, and widespread hunger leaving millions dependent on aid. The UN estimates that over half of the country’s 42 million population require assistance.
Afghanistan lies along active fault lines in the Hindu Kush mountains, making it highly susceptible to earthquakes. Last year, tremors in western Afghanistan killed over 1,000 people, and a magnitude-6.3 quake in October 2023 claimed thousands of lives, marking one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent Afghan history.
