Over 800 killed as quake rocks Afghanistan

(UPDATE) JALALABAD, Afghanistan — The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan has risen to over 800, the Taliban government spokesman said Monday, with the majority in remote Kunar province. Some 800 people died and another 2,500 were injured in Kunar, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul.

The earthquake struck just before midnight, shaking buildings from Kabul to neighboring Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.

Taliban authorities and the United Nations have mobilized rescue efforts to hard-hit areas.

“The UN in Afghanistan is deeply saddened by the devastating earthquake that struck the eastern region & claimed hundreds of lives,” the UN said on X, saying teams were on the ground “delivering emergency assistance & lifesaving support.”

The epicenter of the quake, which struck at a relatively shallow depth of eight kilometers, was 27 kilometers from the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, according to the US Geological Survey.

Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deep tremors.

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A series of aftershocks followed throughout the night, including a powerful and shallow 5.2-magnitude quake just after 4:00 a.m.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

Nangarhar province was also hit by flooding overnight Friday to Saturday, which killed five people and destroyed crops and property, provincial authorities said.

In June 2022, a 5.9-magnitude quake struck the impoverished eastern border province of Paktika, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Over 800 killed as quake rocks Afghanistan

Ravaged by four decades of war, Afghanistan is already contending with a humanitarian disaster.

With the return of the Taliban, foreign aid to Afghanistan has shrunk dramatically, undermining the already impoverished nation’s ability to respond to disasters.

In 2015, more than 380 people were killed in Pakistan and Afghanistan when a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake ripped across the two countries, with the bulk of the deaths in Pakistan.