A Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Struck Afghanistan And More Than 800 People Are Dead And 2,800 Injured
“There is death in every home, and beneath the rubble of each roof, there are dead bodies. The mud houses have been wiped away, and destruction is everywhere,”
A powerful magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late on Sunday, Aug. 31, killing at least 800 people and injuring more than 2,800 others.
The epicenter was recorded in Kunar province, about 27 kilometers northeast of Jalalabad, the country’s fifth-largest city of nearly 200,000 people.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of around eight to 10 km, which made it more destructive, destroying entire villages in Kunar and neighboring Nangarhar.
A Kunar resident said 10 of his relatives, including his five children, had been killed in the earthquake, according to the Guardian.
“There is death in every home, and beneath the rubble of each roof, there are dead bodies. The mud houses have been wiped away, and destruction is everywhere,” he said.
Rescue efforts have been paralyzed by landslides and collapsed roads and bridges, leaving many areas cut off.
At least five aftershocks were recorded overnight, with the strongest reaching magnitude 5.2, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The Taliban government said most of the deaths occurred in Kunar and has appealed for international aid.
However, foreign assistance to Afghanistan has sharply declined since the Taliban took power in 2021, making relief efforts slower and more limited.
This is Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake since 2022, when more than 1,000 people were killed in Paktika province.
You Might Also Be Interested In
Cherry Mohamed
Kassy Cho
