JALALABAD, Afghanistan (BN24) — A powerful earthquake killed at least 800 people and injured more than 2,500 in eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban government said Monday, as desperate residents clawed through rubble with their hands searching for missing family members.
The 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck late Sunday night in Kunar province, near the city of Jalalabad in neighboring Nangarhar province, causing extensive damage to buildings across the mountainous region.
The quake hit at 11:47 p.m. and was centered 27 kilometers east-northeast of Jalalabad at a depth of just 8 kilometers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The shallow depth contributed to more severe damage, and several aftershocks followed the initial tremor.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announced the casualty figures during a press conference Monday, saying most of the deaths occurred in Kunar province. He said “all available resources will be utilized to save lives.”
Footage from the affected areas showed rescuers carrying injured people on stretchers from collapsed buildings to helicopters as residents frantically dug through debris with their bare hands.
Buildings in Afghanistan are typically low-rise constructions made of concrete and brick, with homes in rural areas constructed from mud bricks and wood. Many structures are poorly built and vulnerable to seismic activity.
A resident in Nurgal district, one of the hardest-hit areas in Kunar, said nearly his entire village was destroyed.
“Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble,” said the villager, who did not provide his name. “We need help here. We need people to come here and join us. Let us pull out the people who are buried. There is no one who can come and remove dead bodies from under the rubble.”
One survivor, Sadiqullah, who lives in the Maza Dara area of Nurgal, described being awakened by what sounded like an approaching storm. He managed to rescue three of his children before the room collapsed on him.
“I was half-buried and unable to get out,” Sadiqullah 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.”
Sadiqullah said the tremor felt like “the whole mountain was shaking.”
Rescue operations continued Monday with medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar and the capital Kabul arriving in the affected areas, according to Sharafat Zaman, a health ministry spokesman.
Zaman said many remote areas had not yet reported casualty figures and that “the numbers were expected to change” as deaths and injuries are documented. The mountainous terrain of eastern Afghanistan and damaged communications infrastructure have complicated rescue efforts.
Dozens of flights have operated in and out of Nangarhar Airport, transporting injured victims to hospitals for treatment.
The earthquake was felt across the border in parts of Pakistan, including the capital Islamabad, though no casualties or damage were reported there.
Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the earthquake intensified existing humanitarian challenges in Afghanistan and urged international donors to support relief efforts.
“This adds death and destruction to other challenges including drought and the forced return of millions of Afghans from neighbouring countries,” Grandi wrote on social media platform X. “Hopefully the donor community will not hesitate to support relief efforts.”
The city of Jalalabad, located close to the Pakistan border, serves as a bustling trade center and key border crossing. While the municipality reports a population of about 300,000, the broader metropolitan area is believed to be significantly larger.
The region supports considerable agricultural activity, including citrus fruit and rice farming, with the Kabul River flowing through Jalalabad.
Afghanistan experienced its deadliest recent natural disaster on October 7, 2023, when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the country, followed by strong aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated at least 4,000 people died in that earthquake, while the United Nations provided a lower death toll of approximately 1,500.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences for the victims and their families. “Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We are ready to extend all possible support in this regard,” he said on social platform X.
The earthquake comes as Afghanistan faces ongoing humanitarian challenges. Pakistan has expelled thousands of Afghans over the past year, many of whom had been living legally in the country after escaping Afghanistan as refugees over the past four decades.
According to a June report by the UN refugee agency, at least 1.2 million Afghans have been forced to return to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan so far this year, adding to the country’s humanitarian burden.
The Taliban government has been seeking international assistance for disaster response capabilities since taking control of Afghanistan in 2021, though international sanctions have complicated aid distribution and emergency response coordination.
Afghanistan sits along active seismic fault lines, making it vulnerable to earthquakes. The country’s infrastructure limitations and economic challenges often hamper effective disaster response and recovery efforts.
Health ministry officials said they were working to establish the full scope of casualties and coordinate medical care for survivors, though communication difficulties in remote mountain areas have slowed the assessment process.
Source: AP
