Afghanistan Earthquake Kills 622, Injures Over 1500

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least 622 people and injuring more than 1,500, marking it as one of the country’s deadliest earthquakes since June 2022. The quake devastated the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, leveling homes and exacerbating Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian crises.

The earthquake, centered at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles) in the Hindu Kush mountain range near Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, destroyed numerous homes made of mud and stone. According to the Taliban-run Afghan Interior Ministry, 610 deaths occurred in Kunar province, with 12 in Nangarhar. Three villages in Kunar were completely razed, and many others sustained significant damage.

Rescue operations are in full swing, with military teams deployed across Kunar and Nangarhar. The Afghan Defense Ministry reported that 40 helicopter flights have evacuated 420 wounded and deceased individuals to hospitals. In Kabul, health authorities are working urgently to reach remote hamlets, a region frequently hit by earthquakes and floods. Ministry spokesperson Abdul Maten Qanee told Reuters, “All our teams have been mobilized to accelerate assistance, so that comprehensive and full support can be provided,” highlighting efforts in security, food, and health services. Reuters Television footage showed residents assisting soldiers and medics in carrying the wounded to ambulances.

The disaster further strains Afghanistan’s already limited resources, worsened by a sharp decline in foreign aid and the repatriation of citizens from neighboring countries. No foreign governments have yet offered support for rescue or relief efforts, according to a foreign office spokesperson. Afghanistan’s location in the seismically active Hindu Kush, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates converge, makes it highly susceptible to earthquakes. Last year, a series of quakes in western Afghanistan killed over 1,000 people, underscoring the nation’s vulnerability as one of the world’s poorest countries.

This earthquake is Afghanistan’s deadliest since June 2022, when a magnitude 6.1 quake claimed at least 1,000 lives. The recurring natural disasters highlight the ongoing challenges faced by the country in responding to such crises.