KABUL (Monitoring Desk) – A powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake late Sunday night tore through eastern Afghanistan, flattening villages, killing at least 800 people, and leaving more than 2,500 injured, according to figures released by the Taliban government.
The quake struck at 11:47 p.m. local time, centered 27 kilometers east-northeast of Jalalabad in Kunar province, at a shallow depth of just 8 kilometers. Its destructive force reduced entire communities to rubble, as residents clawed through collapsed homes with their bare hands in search of survivors.
In the hard-hit district of Nurgal, villagers said nearly every home had been destroyed. “Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble,” one resident pleaded. “We need help here. There is no one to pull out the dead bodies.”
Footage showed wounded victims being airlifted by military helicopters, while dozens of flights landed at Nangarhar Airport carrying casualties to hospitals. Rescue operations have been hampered by blocked roads, forcing aid workers to trek for hours to reach survivors.
Sadiqullah, a resident of Maza Dara, said he was trapped for hours after his house collapsed. “My wife and two sons are dead, my father is in hospital with me,” he said. “It felt like the whole mountain was shaking.”
Medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar, and Kabul rushed to the disaster zone, but Taliban officials warned that casualty figures could climb further as many remote villages remain cut off.
The United Nations and aid agencies fear this disaster could trigger a new humanitarian crisis in a country already grappling with drought, poverty, and the mass return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said the quake had “intensified existing challenges” and urged international donors not to turn their backs. The International Rescue Committee warned that the scale of need could “dwarf” the devastation of the 2023 Afghanistan quake, which killed thousands.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies appealed for urgent assistance, citing search and rescue support, emergency healthcare, food, clean water, and road access as immediate priorities.
The tremors were felt across neighboring Pakistan, including in the capital Islamabad. While Pakistan reported no damage or casualties, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered condolences and pledged support.
“Our hearts go out to the victims and their families,” he wrote on X. “We are ready to extend all possible help.”
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