KUNAR: The death toll from Afghanistan’s devastating earthquake has climbed to 1,411, making it one of the deadliest in recent years, Taliban officials confirmed on Tuesday. More than 3,200 people have been injured, while over 8,000 houses were destroyed in the disaster.
The 6.0-magnitude quake struck around midnight on Monday in the eastern province of Kunar at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, flattening mudbrick homes and triggering widespread destruction across mountainous communities near the Pakistan border.
Race Against Time
Rescue operations are underway in four villages of Kunar, but officials warned that many remote areas remain cut off due to treacherous mountain terrain and blocked roads. “We cannot accurately predict how many bodies might still be trapped under the rubble,” said Ehsanullah Ehsan, head of disaster management for Kunar province. “Our effort is to complete these operations as soon as possible and to begin distributing aid to the affected families.”
Heavy machinery is being deployed to clear debris-strewn mountain roads, while helicopters are delivering emergency supplies and evacuating the injured to hospitals in Nangarhar and Kabul. Ambulances lined up on damaged routes as Taliban soldiers provided assistance and security.
Strained Resources
The disaster has placed immense pressure on Afghanistan’s fragile health system and under-resourced administration. The World Health Organization (WHO) said over 12,000 people have been directly affected, warning that “ongoing aftershocks, damaged roads, and remote locations of many villages severely impede the delivery of aid.”
The WHO added that the “pre-earthquake fragility of the health system means local capacity is overwhelmed, creating total dependence on external actors.”
Meanwhile, authorities and aid workers are rushing to dispose of livestock carcasses to prevent contamination of water sources.
International Support
National and international organisations have begun mobilising relief efforts in the quake-hit zones. A Reuters witness reported helicopters flying in with food and medicine, while injured survivors were airlifted to hospitals.
Taliban spokesman Ehsan reassured that “aid will be distributed in an orderly manner” as more partners join the relief operations.
The tragedy comes as Afghanistan continues to grapple with dwindling foreign aid, economic collapse, and mass deportations of Afghans from neighboring countries — factors that have weakened its ability to respond to large-scale emergencies.
A History of Deadly Quakes
Afghanistan, lying near the Hindu Kush mountain range where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide, is highly prone to earthquakes. The country suffered a 6.1-magnitude quake in 2022 that killed more than 1,000 people in the east, the first major natural disaster faced by the Taliban after seizing power in 2021.
