The number of fatalities from a powerful earthquake that struck Afghanistan earlier this week has escalated dramatically, exceeding 2,200 lives lost. This grim update arrives as the same region was jolted by another significant tremor on Thursday evening.
Official figures released Thursday confirmed the death toll from Sunday’s disaster has risen to 2,205, a sharp increase from earlier estimates. The initial quake, a shallow magnitude-6.0 event, hit a remote, mountainous area in the east of the country around midnight, flattening entire villages as residents slept.
Complicating an already dire situation, a second earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck the southeastern part of the nation late Thursday. It is not yet known what additional destruction this latest seismic event has caused. This follows another strong aftershock earlier in the week that triggered landslides, severed access roads, and hampered critical rescue operations.
The province of Kunar has borne the heaviest impact from Sunday’s quake. An assessment by a humanitarian organization indicates that nearly every building in the province—approximately 98%—has been damaged or destroyed. The region’s traditional wood and mud-brick homes, nestled in steep valleys, proved highly vulnerable.
Rescue efforts are being severely hampered by the challenging, rugged terrain. Authorities have deployed helicopters and commandos to locate survivors, while aid workers report having to trek for hours on foot to reach villages isolated by landslides.
One survivor described a landslide burying his home and livestock. “The rocks came down from the mountain,” he said from a medical camp in one of the worst-hit districts. “I barely got my children out… It is impossible to live there.”
The humanitarian response is facing a critical shortage of funding and resources. Aid agencies are issuing urgent appeals for staff and supplies to care for the injured and shelter the tens of thousands left homeless. One major international aid group reported having less than half the staff it had during a previous major quake and only a fraction of the necessary emergency funds available.
A doctor at a medical camp reported that supplies of medicine and tents are already running out. “These people are in great pain,” he said. “They need more aid.”
The catastrophe strikes a nation already grappling with a severe economic crisis and widespread drought. The situation has been worsened by the recent forced return of over two million Afghans from neighboring countries, many of whom now lack housing and livelihoods.
