• Rescue efforts hampered by steep terrain after shallow quake that was felt more than 100 miles away in Kabul

A powerful earthquake that hit Eastern Afghanistan has left more than 800 people dead and injured about 2,500, according to Taliban officials.

The magnitude 6 earthquake hit four provinces in Eastern Afghanistan around midnight on Sunday (31 August), with the rugged, mountainous region of Kunar the worst affected, triggering landslides and flooding.

The earthquake was shallow, taking place close to the earth’s surface, which is known to cause greater destruction. Several aftershocks were reported throughout the night and into yesterday morning (1), which could even be felt in the capital, Kabul, more than 100 miles away.

Taliban Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that the death toll had exceeded 800 by yesterday afternoon and that rescue efforts were continuing to recover those trapped beneath mud and debris. However, those efforts were hampered as roads to affected areas were destroyed or blocked by rubble from the earthquake and on account of the steep and treacherous terrain of the region.

The death toll is expected to rise significantly as local hospitals report being inundated with casualties and hundreds still remain unaccounted for. Medics at the provincial hospital in Asadabad in Kunar described the situation as an overwhelming crisis, with new patients arriving every few minutes.

Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said that it had dispatched 30 doctors and truckloads of medicine to Kunar to assist local hospitals. The Taliban also urged humanitarian organisations to assist with rescue efforts in areas that could only be accessed by air because of the landslides and flooding.

Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, a Taliban leader who heads the State Ministry for National Disaster Management, arrived in Kunar yesterday to oversee the crisis response efforts.

Kunar is a poor, mountainous region where homes are primarily constructed of mud and rocks. The epicentre of the earthquake was close to the bustling trade city of Jalalabad, close to the border with Pakistan. Swathes of the city’s buildings are low-rise and informal constructions, mostly made of concrete and brick, are particularly vulnerable to earthquakes.

In the Laghman Province, officials reported at least 30 injuries, mostly among women. Tremors were also felt in Nuristan, but damage assessments there are still pending.

Afghanistan is grappling with a severe economic crisis, exacerbated by the suspension of United States foreign aid earlier this year and the forced return of more than two million Afghan nationals from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan. According to the United Nations (UN), more than half of Afghanistan’s 42 million population is already in need of humanitarian assistance.

Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.

A series of earthquakes in its west killed more than 1,000 people in 2024, underscoring the vulnerability of one of the world’s poorest countries to natural disasters.

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan on 7 October 2023, followed by strong aftershocks. The Taliban Government estimated that at least 4,000 people perished. The UN gave a far lower death toll of about 1,500. It was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory.

(The Guardian)