An earthquake destroyed numerous villages in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 800 people and injuring more than 2,500, a spokesperson for the Taliban government said Monday.
The 6.0 magnitude quake late Sunday hit a series of towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighbouring Nangahar province, causing extensive damage.
Footage from Nangarhar showed people frantically digging through rubble with their hands, searching for loved ones in the dead of night. The injured were taken by stretcher out of collapsed buildings and into helicopters. Villagers in Kunar gave interviews outside their wrecked homes.
The disaster will further stretch the resources of the South Asian nation already grappling with humanitarian crises, from a sharp drop in aid to a huge pushback of its citizens from neighbouring countries.
The quake at 11:47 p.m. was centred 27 kilometres east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was just eight kilometres deep.
Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage. Several aftershocks followed.
A Taliban government spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, gave the death and injured tolls Monday at a news conference. He said most of the casualties were in Kunar province.
Buildings in Afghanistan tend to be low-rise constructions, mostly of concrete and brick, with homes in rural and outlying areas made of mud bricks and wood. Many are of poor construction.
Death toll expected to rise
One resident in Nurgal district, one of the worst-affected areas in Kunar, said almost the entire village had collapsed.
“Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble,” said the villager, who did not give his name. “We need help here. We need people to come here and join us. Let us pull out the people who are buried. There is no one who can come and remove dead bodies from under the rubble.”
Eastern Afghanistan is mountainous, with remote areas. The quake has worsened communications.
Rescue operations are underway and medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar and the capital of Kabul have arrived in the area, said Health Ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman.
Zaman said many areas had not been able to report casualty figures and that “the numbers were expected to change” as deaths and injuries are reported. The Taliban government’s chief spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said “all available resources will be utilized to save lives.”
Nearby Jalalabad is a bustling trade city due to its proximity with neighbouring Pakistan and a key border crossing between the countries. Although it has a population of about 300,000 according to the municipality, it’s metropolitan area is thought to be far larger.
Jalalabad also has considerable agriculture and farming, including citrus fruit and rice, with the Kabul River flowing through the city.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2023, followed by strong aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated at least 4,000 people perished in that quake. The U.N. gave a far lower death toll of about 1,500.
It was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory.
Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
