Blocked roads and rugged terrain slow urgent rescue efforts
A magnitude-6 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan overnight Sunday, killing over 800 people and injuring around 2,500, Taliban officials confirmed. Rescue operations remain stalled as landslides and collapsed roads have cut off mountain villages.
The tremor, centered near the Pakistan border, devastated Kunar province and was felt in Kabul, over 100 miles away. Its shallow depth made destruction more severe, while repeated aftershocks rattled the region into Monday.
Hospitals at breaking point
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid reported the rising death toll, warning more victims remain trapped beneath mud and stone homes. In Asadabad, the main provincial hospital struggled to treat the flood of casualties.
Among those mourning is Rasheed Khan, a trader from Kabul who lost his wife, three children, and two brothers in Watpur village. “I don’t know how many of my relatives are still under the rubble,” he said.
Rescue hampered, aid requested
The defence ministry dispatched doctors and truckloads of medicine, but blocked routes mean many communities can only be reached by helicopter. Taliban officials urged humanitarian groups to provide field hospitals, food, tents, water, and rescue tools.
Afghanistan’s strained healthcare system, already weakened since the Taliban takeover in 2021, is ill-equipped to respond. Jeremy Smith of the Red Cross said the location makes operations “extremely difficult,” with continuing aftershocks complicating efforts.
Whole villages destroyed
Homes of mud, rock, and fragile concrete crumbled instantly. In Masood village, where nearly every family suffered losses, rescue workers estimate as many as 250 deaths. Hundreds remain unaccounted for in Kunar and nearby provinces Laghman and Nuristan.
Muhammad Aziz, a laborer from Nur Gul, said ten of his relatives, including his five children, were killed. “Every roof collapsed, and people are digging by hand,” he said.
International support begins
China pledged aid, and India delivered tents and food. The UN prepared emergency help, while Pope Leo sent condolences.
The disaster strikes as Afghanistan faces economic collapse, hunger, and the mass return of refugees from Iran and Pakistan. Over half the population already relies on humanitarian assistance.
Earthquakes frequently hit Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush range. Last year, tremors in the west killed more than 1,000, while an October 2023 quake left thousands dead, one of the country’s worst natural disasters in decades.
