KABUL. A powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, killing at least 812 people and injuring more than 2,800, authorities said, as rescuers struggled to reach remote areas blocked by rough terrain and heavy rain.
The magnitude 6 quake hit at a depth of 10 kilometers around midnight, devastating the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar. Entire villages were flattened, with mudbrick houses collapsing under the force of the tremor.
“This is Mazar Dara in Nurgal district. The entire village has been destroyed,” one survivor said. “Children and elders are trapped under the rubble. We need urgent help.”
The Taliban administration appealed to the international community for assistance. “We need it because here lots of people lost their lives and houses,” said health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman.
Rescue operations have been hampered by heavy rains, landslides, and blocked roads, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Military helicopters have been airlifting the wounded, while residents used makeshift stretchers to carry survivors from the rubble.
The quake razed at least three villages in Kunar, killing 610 people there and 12 in Nangarhar. More casualties are expected as rescue teams reach isolated communities.
Foreign response has been limited. India has sent tents and food supplies, while China expressed readiness to provide disaster relief. The United States extended condolences but has not announced aid.
The disaster comes as Afghanistan faces a severe humanitarian crisis. Since the Taliban seized power in 2021, foreign funding has sharply declined, with humanitarian assistance dropping from $3.8 billion in 2022 to $767 million this year. Aid groups warn that more than half of the population urgently needs help.
Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush region, where tectonic plates converge. In 2022, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake killed 1,000 people in the east, marking the first major natural disaster faced by the Taliban government.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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