By By Micheal Chukwuebuka
A large-scale rescue operation is underway in Afghanistan after a powerful earthquake and multiple aftershocks flattened homes in a remote mountainous region, leaving more than 800 people dead, according to Taliban authorities.
The quake struck shortly before midnight, rattling buildings as far away as Kabul and Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that more than 1.2 million people experienced strong or very strong tremors.
In Kunar province, close to the epicentre, around 800 people were killed and 2,500 injured, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed. A further 12 deaths and 255 injuries were reported in neighbouring Nangarhar province.
“Numerous houses were destroyed,” interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani told AFP.
Many Afghans live in low-rise, mud-brick homes, which are particularly vulnerable to collapse during seismic activity. Several villages in Kunar remain cut off due to blocked roads, the UN migration agency warned, adding that emergency workers were struggling to reach the worst-affected areas.
The Taliban government and the United Nations have mobilised extensive rescue efforts. The defence ministry said 40 helicopter sorties had already been carried out. Local residents have also joined the effort, attempting to clear roads to isolated communities.
“There is a lot of fear and tension… children and women were screaming. We had never experienced anything like this in our lives,” said Ijaz Ulhaq Yaad, a member of the agricultural department in Kunar’s Nurgal district. He added that many victims were among the more than four million Afghans who have returned from Iran and Pakistan in recent years.
The USGS reported that the earthquake struck at a shallow depth of eight kilometres, with its epicentre located 27 kilometres from Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, near the border with Pakistan.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his condolences and solidarity with the Afghan people. “I stand in full solidarity with the people of Afghanistan after the devastating earthquake that hit the country earlier today,” he said.
Series Of Aftershocks
At least five aftershocks were recorded following the main tremor, the strongest of which measured magnitude 5.2 just after 4:00 am (2330 GMT Sunday).
Afghanistan is highly prone to earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.
The disaster comes just days after heavy flooding struck Nangarhar province, killing five people and destroying farmland.
Afghanistan has faced several deadly quakes in recent years. In October 2023, a 6.3-magnitude tremor devastated Herat province, killing more than 1,500 people and damaging over 63,000 homes. In June 2022, a 5.9-magnitude quake in Paktika province left more than 1,000 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Ravaged by decades of conflict and grappling with multiple humanitarian crises, Afghanistan’s disaster response capacity has been further undermined since the Taliban’s return to power, with foreign aid significantly reduced.
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