Powerful Earthquake Devastates Eastern Afghanistan, Killing 800, Injuring Thousands
A powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday night, killing at least 800 people and injuring more than 2,500, according to Taliban officials. Entire villages were flattened, with desperate survivors digging through rubble by hand in search of loved ones.
The quake hit at 11:47 p.m. local time, centered roughly 27 kilometers (17 miles) east-northeast of Jalalabad, near the border of Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The shallow depth of just 8 kilometers (5 miles) contributed to the widespread destruction. Multiple aftershocks followed.
One resident in Kunar’s Nurgal district, among the hardest-hit areas, said nearly the entire village was destroyed.
“Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble,” the man said, pleading anonymously for outside help. “There is no one who can come and remove dead bodies from under the rubble.”
In the affected villages, people used bare hands and basic tools to search for survivors. Rescue efforts were hampered by blocked roads, forcing aid workers to hike for hours to reach remote communities.
Sadiqullah, a resident of Maza Dara, described waking to a thunderous boom, grabbing three of his children, and attempting to return for the rest when the house collapsed on top of him.
“I was half-buried and unable to get out,” he said by phone from Nangarhar Hospital. “My wife and two sons are dead. My father is also in the hospital. We were trapped for three to four hours before people rescued us.”
Helicopters were deployed to airlift the injured, and medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar, and Kabul arrived to assist. Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the health ministry, said some regions have yet to report full casualty figures, and the toll is expected to rise.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the death toll had reached at least 800, with Kunar province bearing the brunt of the destruction.
“There are villages where the dead and injured are still under rubble. The numbers may go up,” Mujahid said.
Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, called the earthquake a devastating blow to an already fragile nation grappling with drought, economic collapse, and the forced return of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries.
“This adds death and destruction to other challenges. Hopefully, the donor community will not hesitate to support relief efforts,” Grandi said on X (formerly Twitter).
The International Rescue Committee warned that Sunday’s quake could surpass the humanitarian impact of the October 2023 earthquake, which killed over 1,500 people by U.N. estimates—though Taliban figures put the toll closer to 4,000.
“We are profoundly fearful for the additional strain this will have on the overall humanitarian response,” said Sherine Ibrahim, the IRC’s Afghanistan country director.
The quake was felt in parts of Pakistan, including Islamabad, though no damage was reported there. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences and pledged support, even as Pakistan continues to expel Afghan migrants—over 1.2 million have returned from Iran and Pakistan in 2025 alone, according to the UNHCR.
