A powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border at midnight, killing more than 800 people and injuring over 1,000, officials confirmed. The shallow quake, centered in the mountainous Jalalabad area at a depth of 10 km, left entire villages in Kunar province flattened under rubble.
Rescue efforts remain hampered by blocked mountain roads, with authorities shifting focus from recovering the dead to saving the injured. “The scale of devastation is unimaginable, entire villages are flattened,” a senior Taliban official told BBC News.
Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure, already strained by years of conflict and reduced foreign aid, is struggling to cope. Around 85 percent of Afghans live on less than one dollar a day, leaving communities extremely vulnerable to disasters.
The tragedy has triggered swift international responses. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed ordered search and rescue teams and urgent relief supplies to Afghanistan. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed its solidarity, while Pakistan’s ambassador in the UAE expressed “deep grief” and pledged support. Saudi Arabia also extended condolences, and India’s external affairs minister Dr. S. Jaishankar called the earthquake “devastating,” offering aid and solidarity.
In the rubble-strewn mountains of Kunar, hope for survivors continues, even as the death toll threatens to rise.
