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Rabat — A powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan early Monday morning, killing at least 622 people and injuring more than 1,500 others in one of the country’s worst natural disasters in recent years.
The magnitude 6 earthquake hit the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar at midnight, striking at a depth of 10 kilometers. The tremor destroyed entire villages and left rescue teams racing against time to find survivors trapped under collapsed buildings.
Taliban authorities confirmed that Kunar province suffered the heaviest losses, with 610 deaths reported. Nangarhar province recorded 12 fatalities. The earthquake completely destroyed three villages in Kunar and caused major damage to many others across both provinces.
Helicopters flew wounded victims to hospitals while rescue teams searched through rubble searching for survivors. Military rescue units spread across the affected areas, conducting 40 flights that transported 420 injured and deceased people. Residents joined soldiers and medical workers to carry wounded people to waiting ambulances.
“All our teams have mobilized to accelerate assistance so we can provide comprehensive and full support,” said Abdul Maten Qanee, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s interior ministry. The government deployed teams to handle security, food distribution, and medical care.
The country already faces severe humanitarian challenges, including reduced international aid and the forced return of Afghan citizens from neighboring countries.
Rescue workers struggled to reach remote villages spread across the mountainous region, which has a long history of earthquakes and floods.
Many homes in the area are built from mud and stone, making them especially vulnerable to earthquake damage, which explains the high number of victims.
So far, no foreign governments have offered support for rescue or relief efforts, according to a foreign office spokesperson, adding pressure to the country’s limited resources.
This earthquake ranks as Afghanistan’s deadliest since June 2022, when a magnitude 6.1 tremor killed at least 1,000 people. Last year, a series of earthquakes amassed an even higher death toll in Western Afghanistan.
Afghanistan sits in an earthquake-prone region, nestled within the Hindu Kush mountain range where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. This geological setting makes the country one of the world’s most vulnerable to seismic activity.
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