Devastating Afghanistan earthquake claims hundreds of lives

A devastating earthquake rocked eastern Afghanistan late Sunday night, leaving communities shattered and families torn apart. The 6.0-magnitude quake has claimed at least 800 lives and left thousands more injured, with the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar bearing the brunt of the destruction. Entire villages crumbled while residents slept, giving them no chance to escape.

The aftermath has been chaos, with rescue workers battling against nature itself. Torrential rain and blocked mountain passes have hampered relief efforts, while desperate survivors claw through debris with bare hands searching for loved ones and neighbors. Medical helicopters weave between peaks, rushing the injured to overwhelmed hospitals. Officials fear the death toll will climb as teams finally reach isolated mountain communities.

Sharafat Zaman, the health ministry’s spokesperson in Kabul, appealed for international assistance.

«We need it because lots of people here lost their lives and houses,» he told Reuters.

This urgent plea for international help comes as Afghanistan’s already fragile healthcare system buckles under the pressure. The country’s humanitarian crisis has deepened this year, with foreign aid dropping dramatically from $3.8 billion to just $767 million, according to Al Jazeera.

While India and China have stepped forward with initial aid packages, the U.S. response has been limited to expressions of sympathy. The UN has begun coordinating relief efforts, though they note the grim reality: even before this disaster, more than half of Afghanistan’s population needed humanitarian assistance.

This latest catastrophe follows a similar earthquake in 2023. At the time, about 1,000 people were killed, highlighting Afghanistan’s vulnerability to seismic activity in the region.