Afghanistan – A powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 800 people and injuring over 3,000. The epicenter was located about 42 kilometers from Jalalabad in Nangarhar province at a shallow depth of just eight kilometers, which amplified the destructive force felt on the surface. The tremor shook large areas of the region and was also felt strongly across the border in Pakistan, including Islamabad, though no casualties were reported there.
Entire villages in Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman, Nuristan, and Panjshir were reduced to rubble. Rescue operations have been hampered by landslides, damaged roads, and heavy rains, leaving many communities cut off. The Taliban’s Interior Minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, has ordered an urgent acceleration of search-and-rescue operations, prioritizing the most isolated areas. According to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, additional teams from neighboring provinces are being deployed, and “all available resources” are being mobilized to save lives.
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed deep sorrow over the disaster and confirmed that its teams are already on the ground, providing emergency relief and assessing urgent needs such as shelter, medical care, and logistics to reach inaccessible areas. International assistance is also beginning to flow, with aid offers from the United Nations, UAE, India, China, Iran, and the UK.
Observers warn that the disaster could exacerbate Afghanistan’s fragile humanitarian crisis, as thousands face the dual challenge of displacement and shortages of food, medicine, and shelter. Emergency services remain on high alert amid the risk of aftershocks and further landslides.
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