The death toll from Afghanistan’s worst earthquake in years has risen to more than 1,100, with thousands more injured and widespread destruction reported across the country’s mountainous eastern provinces.
The Afghan Red Crescent Society said on Tuesday that at least 1,124 people had died, 3,251 were injured, and over 8,000 houses destroyed. The organisation warned that more victims may still be trapped beneath the rubble.
The 6.0-magnitude quake struck just after midnight on Monday at a shallow depth of 10 km, devastating villages in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces. The United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan said the death toll was expected to climb as rescue operations continued in remote areas.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, provincial head of disaster management in Kunar, said operations had been conducted in four badly hit villages, but mountainous terrain and damaged roads were slowing efforts to reach isolated communities. “We cannot accurately predict how many bodies might still be trapped under the rubble,” he said. “Our effort is to complete these operations as soon as possible and to begin distributing aid to the affected families.”
Helicopters were deployed to ferry the injured to hospitals, while ambulances lined narrow mountain roads struggling to reach villages cut off by landslides and debris. Some critically injured victims were transferred to hospitals in Kabul and Nangarhar.
Humanitarian agencies raised alarm over the scale of the crisis. The World Health Organization said more than 12,000 people had been affected, warning that damaged roads, ongoing aftershocks, and fragile local health systems had left communities fully dependent on external support. UNICEF said thousands of children were at risk and announced it was dispatching medicines, warm clothing, tents, tarpaulins, and hygiene supplies.
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Taliban soldiers have been deployed to assist in rescue and relief operations, but the disaster has further strained the administration’s limited resources. Authorities are also racing to dispose of animal carcasses to prevent contamination of water sources.
International support has begun to trickle in. Britain pledged £1 million to support U.N. and Red Cross relief efforts, while India delivered 1,000 tents and announced additional shipments of food supplies. China, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Iran, and the European Union have also pledged assistance, though much of the aid has yet to arrive.
The tragedy has highlighted Afghanistan’s growing vulnerability amid declining foreign aid. Cuts in U.S. funding earlier this year and reductions from other donors, coupled with global crises and concerns over the Taliban’s policies, have significantly reduced humanitarian support to the country of 42 million people.
For survivors, the immediate needs are food, tents, and shelter. Many families left homeless by the quake are living in the open, braving aftershocks and harsh weather. “With their houses in ruins, many people are living in fear,” said Safiullah Noorzai of Aseel, a humanitarian tech platform.
