Afghanistan was hit by another earthquake on Tuesday, intensifying the humanitarian crisis already gripping the country after a powerful tremor over the weekend left more than 1,400 people dead.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the latest quake measured 5.2 in magnitude and struck near the epicentre of Sunday night’s 6.0-magnitude earthquake in Kunar province, close to the Pakistan border.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesperson for Kunar’s disaster management office, said the aftershock was felt in the same areas devastated earlier but had not yet caused new casualties.
The Taliban government confirmed on Tuesday that the disaster has killed 1,411 people and injured more than 3,100 in Kunar alone. Another 12 deaths and hundreds of injuries were reported in neighbouring Nangarhar province.
Rescue operations continue under extreme conditions. Thousands of homes have collapsed, with over 5,400 destroyed in Kunar, leaving families trapped under debris. Many affected villages remain inaccessible by road, forcing residents to dig through rubble with their bare hands.
The United Nations warned that the disaster could impact “hundreds of thousands” of people. UN humanitarian coordinator Indrika Ratwatte stressed that Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure and dwindling aid make recovery especially difficult.
International support is beginning to arrive. The European Union announced the delivery of 130 tonnes of emergency supplies and pledged €1 million ($1.2 million) in immediate relief. However, humanitarian agencies warn that cuts in international funding have severely undermined disaster response capacity.
Hospitals in the region are overwhelmed. In Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar, more than 600 injured patients have been treated since Sunday. Most sustained head, back, and limb injuries caused by collapsing mud-brick homes, which are highly vulnerable in shallow quakes.
The tragedy adds to Afghanistan’s long history of seismic disasters. In 2023, a 6.3-magnitude quake in Herat province killed more than 1,500 people. The previous year, a 5.9-magnitude quake in Paktika claimed over 1,000 lives.
For survivors of the latest disaster, the grief is overwhelming. “There is only rubble left,” said 26-year-old Obaidullah Stoman, who searched in vain for a missing friend in Kunar.
Villagers continue to bury their dead in mass prayers, even as aftershocks keep shaking the devastated region.
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