Afghanistan Earthquake Kills 1,400, Injures 3,000 As Search For Survivors Continues

Rescue teams continued to scour Afghanistan’s mountainous east for survivors on Tuesday as the death toll from a strong earthquake rose to 1,400 with more than 3,000 people injured, an official said.

“The injured are being evacuated, so these figures may change significantly,” Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, told the Associated Press. “The earthquake caused landslides in some areas, blocking roads, but they have been reopened, and the remaining roads will be reopened to allow access to areas that were difficult to reach.”

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The 6.0 magnitude quake struck late Sunday night in several provinces, flattening villages and leaving people trapped under the rubble of homes constructed mostly of mud bricks and wood and unable to withstand the shock.

The majority of casualties were in Kunar province, where many people live in steep river valleys separated by high mountains. Helicopters are being used to evacuate the injured to hospitals, and aid agencies said their teams were making journeys on foot to reach the most isolated areas because of the rough terrain and ruined roads.

The Taliban government has appealed for international help.

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The UK has pledged £1 million ($1.3 million) in emergency funding to be split between humanitarian agencies rather than the Taliban government, which the U.K. does not recognize.

Other governments, including China, have offered disaster relief assistance.

It is the third major earthquake since the Taliban seized power in 2021, and the latest crisis to beset Afghanistan, which is reeling from deep cuts to aid funding, a weak economy, and millions of people forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan.

Mark Calder, advocacy director at the World Vision Afghanistan aid agency, warned of more than 250,000 people “swelling the ranks” of those needing help to access basic needs and services if resources were not made available.

“This will mean more people living without proper shelter, access to nutritious food to feed their families, clean water, and by extension malnutrition and disease in a context where the healthcare system simply can’t stretch,” said Calder.

Homes Collapsed And People Screamed For Help

Eastern Afghanistan is mountainous, with remote areas. The quake has worsened communications. Dozens of flights operated in and out of Nangarhar Airport, transporting the injured to the hospital.

One survivor described seeing homes collapse before his eyes and people screaming for help.

Sadiqullah, who lives in the Maza Dara area of Nurgal, said he was woken by a deep boom that sounded like a storm approaching. Like many Afghans, he uses only one name.

He ran to where his children were sleeping and rescued three of them. He was about to return to grab the rest of his family when the room fell on top of him.

“I was half-buried and unable to get out,” he told the Associated Press by phone from Nangarhar Hospital. “My wife and two sons are dead, and my father is injured and in hospital with me. We were trapped for three to four hours until people from other areas arrived and pulled me out.”

It felt like the whole mountain was shaking, he said.

Tremors Felt In Neighboring Pakistan

Sunday night’s quake was felt in parts of Pakistan, including the capital, Islamabad. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

The Afghan city of Jalalabad, close to Pakistan, is a bustling trade center and a key border crossing. Although it has a population of about 300,000 according to the municipality, its metropolitan area is thought to be far larger.

Jalalabad also has considerable agriculture, including citrus fruit and rice farming, with the Kabul River flowing through the city.

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2023, followed by strong aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated at least 4,000 people perished in that quake.

The U.N. gave a far lower death toll of about 1,500. It was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was deeply saddened by events in Afghanistan. “Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We are ready to extend all possible support in this regard,” he said on the social platform X.

Pakistan has expelled thousands of Afghans in the past year, many of them living legally in the country after escaping Afghanistan as refugees over the past four decades.

At least 1.2 million Afghans have been forced to return to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan so far this year, according to a June report by UNHCR.