Rescue efforts are in full swing in eastern Afghanistan as search teams scour the rubble left by a devastating earthquake that has claimed more than 900 lives. The tremor, which registered at a magnitude of 6.0, struck remote mountain regions near the Pakistani border just past midnight on Sunday, followed thereafter by several aftershocks.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, head of the Kunar Provincial Disaster Management Authority, emphasized the urgency of the situation, noting that many injured people in isolated villages require immediate evacuation to medical facilities.
Local villagers have joined the rescue mission, using bare hands to sift through debris composed of mud and stone from collapsed homes. Obaidullah Stoman, a 26-year-old searching for a friend in the wreckage of Wadir village, described the scene as overwhelming, with nothing but rubble remaining.
The calamity also claimed the lives of numerous children. Bereaved villagers are conducting funerals, wrapping their loved ones in white shrouds and offering prayers before burial.
Blocked roads have left some of the most severely affected areas inaccessible, complicating relief efforts. The earthquake was centered 27 kilometers from Jalalabad, at a shallow depth of eight kilometers, increasing the potential for damage. Afghanistan’s infrastructure, largely made up of fragile mud-brick structures, is ill-equipped for such natural disasters.
Afghanistan remains in dire need of international assistance due to prolonged conflicts and recent reductions in foreign aid. Since the Taliban’s rise in 2021, aid to the country has drastically decreased, a trend exacerbated by the U.S. under President Donald Trump, who scaled back financial support early this year.
In response, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced an initial aid package of $5 million and pledged to coordinate further support, reflecting the deep international concerns regarding Afghanistan’s capacity to recover from such catastrophes.
Pakistan, a neighboring country closely impacted by the disaster, has expressed profound condolences. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered support, while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government prepared shipments of medicine and other essentials. Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, an advisor to the regional government, highlighted solidarity with Afghan families during this challenging time and assured the provision of medical treatment for the injured.
The Taliban authorities updated the casualty figures, reporting between 900 and 950 deaths, along with around 3,000 injuries in Kunar province alone. Additional fatalities and injuries were reported in Nangarhar and Laghman provinces.
The disaster is just the latest in a series of earthquakes to hit Afghanistan, a country frequently beset by seismic activity. In October 2023, a 6.3-magnitude quake ravaged the Herat province, killing more than 1,500 people, while a similar event in Paktika in June 2022 resulted in over 1,000 deaths.
As rescue operations continue, Afghanistan braces itself for the daunting task of recovery amid an already existing humanitarian crisis.
