A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan overnight, killing at least 800 and injuring more than 2,500, with rescuers racing against time to pull survivors from the wreckage in Kunar province.
fghanistan was rocked by tragedy late Sunday night as a 6.3-magnitude earthquake ripped through the country’s eastern provinces, leaving at least 800 dead and over 2,500 injured. Tremors were felt as far as neighboring Pakistan, jolting millions awake in the early hours of Monday.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake struck just before midnight at a shallow depth of 8 kilometers, with its epicenter about 27 kilometers from Jalalabad.
The Taliban government confirmed that Kunar province, bordering Pakistan, bore the brunt of the disaster. Whole villages in Nur Gul, Soki, Watpur, Manogi, and Chapa Dara have been devastated. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reported the catastrophic toll, warning the number of casualties could rise as rescuers continue to sift through collapsed homes.
Hospitals across the region are overflowing with survivors, while rescuers armed with shovels, bare hands, and limited equipment are battling time to pull people from beneath the debris. With each passing hour, hopes of finding survivors grow dimmer.
Scenes of desperation dominate Kunar: families searching through rubble for missing loved ones, makeshift camps for the displaced, and overstretched medical staff treating the wounded.
The earthquake has once again exposed Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure and limited disaster response capacity, magnifying the humanitarian crisis in a country already grappling with poverty, conflict, and isolation.
