More than 800 people have been killed and at least 2,800 injured in one of Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquakes, officials said on Monday (Sept 1), as helicopters airlifted the wounded from the rubble of flattened homes in a desperate search for survivors.
The disaster strikes as the Taliban-led administration continues to face severe humanitarian challenges, including a sharp decline in international aid and the forced return of hundreds of thousands of Afghans from neighbouring countries.
The magnitude 6.0 earthquake, which struck around midnight at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles), caused widespread devastation in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar.
"We need international support because so many people have lost their lives and homes," said Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health in Kabul, in an appeal to the global community.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Taliban administration, confirmed the death toll, saying 812 people had been killed in total — 610 in Kunar and 12 in Nangarhar — with thousands more injured.
Emergency response teams were struggling to access remote, mountainous regions along the Pakistani border, where communities living in mudbrick homes had been cut off from communication networks. Many of these houses collapsed during the quake, which razed at least three entire villages in Kunar and severely damaged numerous others.
“All our teams have been mobilised to accelerate assistance, so that comprehensive and full support can be provided,” said Abdul Maten Qanee, another health ministry spokesperson, citing efforts spanning security, healthcare, and food aid.
According to the defence ministry, military rescue operations are underway, with 40 flights so far evacuating 420 people, both wounded and deceased.
This marks the third major fatal earthquake to hit Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021, following the withdrawal of international forces. The takeover led to a dramatic reduction in foreign aid, which had previously sustained much of the country’s public services and infrastructure.
Source: Agencies
SMS/
