A powerful earthquake followed by multiple aftershocks struck eastern Afghanistan just before midnight on Monday, flattening villages, killing more than 800 people, and injuring around 2,500.
Kabul/Jalalabad
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported the 6.0-magnitude quake struck at a shallow depth of 8 km, about 27 km from Jalalabad. More than 1.2 million people likely experienced strong or very strong shaking, the agency said. Tremors were felt as far as Kabul and Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
Taliban officials confirmed that most casualties were in Kunar province, where villages were reduced to rubble. In neighbouring Nangarhar, at least 12 people were killed and more than 250 injured. “Numerous houses were destroyed,” interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani told AFP, noting that mud-brick homes collapsed instantly.
Rescue operations have been hampered by blocked roads, weak telecom networks, and limited medical facilities. The defence ministry said 40 sorties had been flown to deliver aid, while civilians worked to clear debris. Survivors described scenes of panic, with children and women screaming as homes crumbled around them.
The UN and international agencies joined Taliban authorities in mobilising relief efforts. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed solidarity, saying he stood “in full support of the Afghan people.”
Afghanistan’s vulnerability to quakes has been underscored repeatedly: Herat was devastated in 2023, killing 1,500, while a 2022 quake in Paktika left more than 1,000 dead.
