Another huge earthquake hits Afghanistan as country reels from 6.0-magnitude quake that killed more than 1,400 people

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday near the epicentre of a powerful quake at the weekend that killed more than 1,400 people, according to the US Geological Survey.

The epicentre of the quake was 21 miles northeast of Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province, according to the USGS.

The extent of the damage, if any, of the latest quake is not currently known.  

Over the weekend, Afghanistan was hit by a 6.0-magnitude quake that the Taliban today said killed 1,400 in total.  

Sunday night’s powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck several provinces, causing extensive damage. It flattened villages and trapped people under the rubble of homes constructed mostly of mud bricks and wood that were unable to withstand the shock.

Rough terrain is hampering rescue and relief efforts, forcing Taliban authorities to air drop dozens of commandos to evacuate the injured from places where helicopters cannot land.

Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s resident coordinator for Afghanistan, said rescuers are scrambling in a ‘race against time’ to reach the mountainous and remote area hit. In a media briefing in Geneva Tuesday, he warned of a surge in casualty numbers.

‘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,’ Ratwatte said, while urging the international community to step forward.

‘These are life and death decisions while we race against time to reach people,’ he said.

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.

Ratwatte said that when the walls of wooden and mud homes collapse, the roof falls on the occupants, causing injury or death. While the area was low-density, the earthquake struck when everybody was asleep.

‘If you were to model it based on what has happened before, clearly there’s no question that the casualty rate is going to be rather exponential,’ he said.

The Taliban government, which is only recognized by Russia, has appealed for assistance from the international community and the humanitarian sector.

However, help for Afghanistan is in short supply due to competing global crises and reduced aid budgets in donor countries.

There is also opposition toward the Taliban government’s restrictive policies on Afghan girls and women, including a ban on them working for nongovernmental organizations. Earlier this year, the U.S. gutted aid to Afghanistan, partly due to concerns that money was going to the Taliban government.

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. 

Taliban authorities have set up a camp in Kunar to organize supplies and emergency aid. 

There are also two centres to coordinate the transportation of the injured, the burial of the dead, and the rescue of survivors.

More to follow.