Afghanistan Earthquake Today Live Updates: Another earthquake strikes Afghanistan after death toll crosses over 1,400

As the country ruled by the Taliban faces cuts to aid funding, a weak economy, and millions of people forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan, the rescue operation seems troublesome, exacerbated by the rough terrain. The Taliban government, which took over power in 2021, has requested for assistance from foreign governments and the humanitarian sector. Kate Carey, who is the deputy head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan, said more than 420 health facilities had closed or were suspended due to the “massive reduction” in funding, with 80 of them in the eastern region, the heart of Sunday’s quake. “The consequence is that the remaining facilities are overwhelmed, have insufficient supplies and personnel, and are not as close to the affected populations as the more local facilities at a time when providing emergency trauma care is needed in the first 24 to 72 hours of the earthquake response,” said Carey.

Hemmed in by rugged mountains, Afghanistan is prone to a range of natural disasters, but its earthquakes cause the most fatalities, killing about 560 people on average each year and causing annual damages estimated at $80 million.

Studies indicate at least 355 earthquakes with a magnitude higher than 5.0 have hit Afghanistan since 1990.

AP

The Tuesday's earthquake of magnitude 5.5 has sparked fears of further damage and destruction. Tuesday's quake occurred at a relatively shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles), the same as the one that struck at midnight on Sunday.

A day after 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, another earthquake of 6.6 magnitude was reported in the southeastern region of the country on Tuesday. While rescue workers scramble in a “race against time” through the rough terrain, the death toll has crossed 1,400 and more than 3,000 people have been injured.

Urging the international community to step forward, Indrika Ratwatte, UN's resident for Afghanistan said, “We cannot afford to forget the people of Afghanistan who are facing multiple crises, multiple shocks, and the resilience of the communities has been saturated,”

“These are life and death decisions while we race against time to reach people.”

The death toll from the major earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has surged 1,400 and more than 3,000 have been injured, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban government spokesman, said on social platform X. As the situation turned grim and worrisome, rescuers are scrambling in a "race against time" to reach the mountainous and remote area devastated by the earthquake.

Rescue teams and authorities are trying to dispose of animal carcasses quickly so as to minimise the risk of contamination to water resources, a U.N. official said on Monday. "Damaged roads, ongoing aftershocks, and remote locations of many villages severely impede the delivery of aid," the World Health Organization said, adding that over 12,000 people had been affected by the quake.

"The pre-earthquake fragility of the health system means local capacity is overwhelmed, creating total dependence on external actors," it said.

Reuters inputs

It is the third major earthquake since the Taliban seized power in 2021, and the latest crisis to beset Afghanistan, which is reeling from deep cuts to aid funding, a weak economy, and millions of people forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan.

In October 2023 an earthquake killed more than 1,500 people. The previous year, more than 1,000 people were killed by another earthquake.

UN coordinator in Afghanistan said the number of registered deaths and injuries from the quake will rise.

The death toll in the Afghanistan earthquake reached 1,124, with at least 3,251 injured. The quake destroyed over 8,000 houses.

Rescuers in Afghanistan will try to reach isolated villages in the eastern region of Kunar, the epicentre of an earthquake that killed over 800 people and injured more than 2,800, authorities told Reuters on Tuesday.

Rescue operations were carried out in four villages in Kunar on Monday after the quake struck and efforts will now be focused on reaching more remote mountain areas, said Ehsanullah Ehsan, the provincial head of disaster management.

"We cannot accurately predict how many bodies might still be trapped under the rubble," said Ehsan.

"Our effort is to complete these operations as soon as possible and to begin distributing aid to the affected families." One of Afghanistan's worst earthquakes, with a magnitude of 6, struck around midnight local time on Monday, at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles), killing 812 people in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar.

Mountainous terrain and inclement weather have hindered rescuers reaching remote areas along the Pakistani border where the quake flattened mudbrick homes.

- Reuters

The Taliban has called for international aid as Afghanistan suffered a deadly earthquake on Monday which led to the death of over 800 people and left thousands injured, The Guardian reported.

Rescue teams have been searching for survivors after the 6.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed entire villages across the country’s eastern Kunar province which borders Pakistan.

The earthquake of 6.0 magnitude that struck Afghanistan on Monday was shallow and close to Earth's surface and this is the reason it became more destructive.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported at least five aftershocks in the region post the major earthquake, with the strongest aftershock registering a magnitude of 5.2 within hours of the initial quake.

The shrinking of funding for Afghanistan, led by US aid cuts, was hampering the response on Monday to a powerful earthquake in the east, with dozens of clinics closed and a helicopter out of use, humanitarian officials said.

The magnitude 6 tremor hit overnight, levelling villages, killing at least 800 people and injuring more than 2,800 in remote mountainside areas.

The ruling Taliban administration and aid officials have a daunting task to rescue and help thousands of Afghans with a tinier budget than ever and an economy in crisis.

"The actual delivery of response has been badly hit by the funding cuts this year, but also the number of people we have on the ground is much less than we would have had six months ago," said Kate Carey, deputy head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan.

It was the third major deadly earthquake since the Taliban took over in 2021 in a nation also reeling from conflict, droughts, floods and the push-back of 2.1 million Afghans by neighbouring countries.

- Reuters

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution urging the federal government to allow victims injured in the Afghanistan earthquake to be brought to Pakistan for treatment, even as the province prepares for a crackdown against Afghan refugees.

KP Assembly, with Speaker Babar Saleem in the Chair, passed the resolution to transfer critically injured Afghan earthquake victims to Pakistan without visa requirements.

The resolution stated that extending every possible assistance to Afghan brothers in this difficult time is a moral obligation.

It also urged the federal and provincial governments to work in coordination to dispatch relief teams and medical supplies to the affected areas in Afghanistan.

A powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan's Kunar province late Sunday claimed over 800 lives, leaving more than 1,000 injured, while many are still trapped under the debris.

- PTI

The 6.0 magnitude earthquake that shook Afghanistan on Sunday affected Nangarhar, Nuristan, Laghman and Kunar in eastern Afghanistan wherein the Kunar province was worst affected.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake struck around midnight, about 27 kilometres north-east of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, at a relatively shallow depth of 8 kilometres (5 miles).

Britain set out emergency funding support for those affected by the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan, saying it would ensure that the aid does not go to the South Asian country's current Taliban administration by channelling it through its partners.

Sunday's disaster - one of Afghanistan's worst earthquakes - has killed more than 800 people and injured at least 2,800, authorities said on Monday, as rescue operations continued. The country's response to the crisis has been hampered by the shrinking of funding for Afghanistan, led by US aid cuts.

Britain's 1-million-pound ($1.35-million) assistance will be split between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Red Cross (IFRC) to deliver critical healthcare and emergency supplies to Afghans in the most affected regions, the government statement said.

"The UK remains committed to the people of Afghanistan, and this emergency funding will help our partners to deliver critical healthcare and emergency supplies to the most hard-hit," British foreign minister David Lammy said in the statement.

- Reuters

"Patients are still in shock," reports Yama Bariz from Nangarhar Regional Hospital, where 460 victims have been brought for treatment.

According to doctors, 250 patients have been hospitalized, while others received treatment and were discharged. The hospital is stretched beyond capacity, with hundreds of patients and limited resources.

"They weren't in a condition to speak to anyone; they were crying, some loudly, some silently," Bariz describes the scene, as relatives search for loved ones amidst the chaos. -BBC

Rescue teams have been struggling to reach remote mountainous regions near the Pakistani border that were cut off from mobile networks after the earthquake. Many mudbrick houses built along the slopes collapsed in the tremors.

Kate Carey, an officer with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), said the area had experienced heavy rainfall over the past 24 to 48 hours. She noted that this raised the danger of landslides and rockslides, making several roads impassable, Reuters reported.

Authorities and rescue workers are also focusing on the quick disposal of animal carcasses to prevent the contamination of water supplies, Carey added.

Officials have warned that the number of casualties may rise as rescue operations expand into more isolated and difficult-to-reach locations.

Afghanistan is situated on top of a number of fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian plates meet. These plates collide often, leading to significant tectonic activity in the region.

Brian Baptie, seismologist at British Geological Survey, told Science Media Centre, “With India moving towards Eurasia at around 45 mm each year, this collision zone is one of the most seismically active regions of the Earth — accounting for around 15% of all seismic energy released around the world each year. This is an area of very high seismic hazard, with regular earthquake activity spreading across complex fault systems distributed over a wide region.” Read the Full explainer HERE

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Monday, spoke with his Afghan counterpart Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, offering condolences for the loss of lives in the earthquake.

Jaishankar informed that India has already delivered 1,000 family tents to Kabul, and 15 tonnes of food aid are being transported from the Indian mission in Kabul to Kunar province.

He added that additional relief supplies will be dispatched from India starting Tuesday and wished for the swift recovery of those injured in the disaster.

Afghanistan, where hundreds of people have been killed after an earthquake struck the country’s eastern region late last night. This is what we know so far:

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has offered condolences to the victims of Afghanistan’s earthquake.

“I stand in full solidarity with the people of Afghanistan after the devastating earthquake that hit the country earlier today,” he said.

The UN added on social media that its teams in Afghanistan are “delivering emergency assistance and life-saving support.”

However, rescue operations are being hampered by the remoteness of many affected areas and limited telecommunications networks.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has extended support to Afghanistan, pledging humanitarian and medical assistance in the wake of the recent tragedy.

“In these difficult moments and great tragedy, while expressing sincere condolences and solidarity with the great people of Afghanistan and the bereaved families, the Islamic Republic of Iran announces its full readiness to send relief, medical and humanitarian aid,” Araghchi said in comments as reported by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

In a statement posted on X, PM Narendra Modi expressed support and condolences to those affected by the earthquake. "Deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to the earthquake in Afghanistan. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families in this difficult hour, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured," he wrote. "India stands ready to provide all possible humanitarian aid and relief to those affected," he added.

Afghanistan earthquake death toll rises to 800, with 2,500 injured, Taliban government spokesman says.

(AP)

Women and children are among those injured in Afghanistan’s latest earthquake, but reports suggest far fewer women are receiving hospital care compared to men, according to the BBC. In Kunar, a highly conservative province, cultural norms may delay women from seeking or receiving treatment, with some families possibly waiting until daylight to take them to hospital. A similar trend was seen after the 2022 Paktika earthquake, when the number of injured women in hospitals rose only days later. Aid workers also note that no female rescuers are currently on the ground.

(With inputs from BBC)

More than 600 people were killed and over 1,500 injured in one of Afghanistan's worst earthquakes, authorities said on Monday, as helicopters ferried the wounded to hospital after they were plucked from rubble being combed for survivors. The disaster will further stretch the resources of the South Asian nation already grappling with humanitarian crises, from a sharp drop in aid to a huge pushback of its citizens from neighbouring countries.

The quake of magnitude 6 killed at least 622 people in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, the Taliban-run Afghan interior ministry said, with more than 1,500 injured and numerous houses destroyed. "All our ... teams have been mobilised to accelerate assistance, so that comprehensive and full support can be provided," ministry spokesperson Abdul Maten Qanee told Reuters, citing efforts in areas from security to food and health.

In Kabul, the capital, health authorities said rescuers were racing to reach remote hamlets dotting an area with a long history of earthquakes and floods. The earthquake was Afghanistan's deadliest since June 2022, when tremors of magnitude 6.1 killed at least 1,000 people. Images from Reuters Television showed helicopters ferrying out the affected, while residents helped soldiers and medics carry the wounded to ambulances. The quake razed three villages in Kunar, with substantial damage in many others, authorities said. At least 610 people were killed in Kunar with 12 dead in Nangarhar, they added.

Rescuers were scrambling to find survivors in the area bordering Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, where homes of mud and stone were levelled by the midnight quake that hit at a depth of 10 km (6 miles). Military rescue teams fanned out across the two provinces, the defence ministry said in a statement, adding that 40 flights had carried out 420 wounded and dead. "So far, no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work," a foreign office spokesperson said.

Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. A series of earthquakes in its west killed more than 1,000 people last year, underscoring the vulnerability of one of the world's poorest countries to natural disasters.

(Reuters)

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday described the earthquake in Afghanistan’s Kunar province as “a matter of deep concern.” In a statement posted on X, he said, "India will extend assistance in this hour of need. Our condolences to the families of the victims. And our prayers for early recovery of the injured.”

In a social media statement posted on X, The United Nations in Afghanistan said it is “deeply saddened” by the powerful earthquake in the country’s east. It added that its teams are already on the ground “delivering emergency assistance and lifesaving support.” The statement added, “Our thoughts are with the affected communities."