The death toll has risen to 1,124 in Afghanistan’s earthquake, with at least 3,251 people injured and more than 8,000 houses destroyed, according to the humanitarian organisation the Afghan Red Crescent Society on Tuesday.
A powerful 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday night, with most of the casualties being in the mountainous province of Kunar, the epicentre, and close to Jalalabad in Nangahar province—the country’s fifth largest city.
The quake, which occurred at 11:47 pm (GMT+5), was centred 27 kilometres (17 miles) east-northeast of Jalalabad and was only 8 kilometres (5 miles) deep, the US Geological Survey said.
Rescue workers were seen carrying injured victims from collapsed structures into helicopters, while others searched through the debris using their bare hands.
Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, said, “The earthquake caused landslides in some areas, blocking roads, but they have been reopened, and the remaining roads will be reopened to allow access to areas that were difficult to reach.”
This quake was the third strong earthquake since the Taliban seized power in 2021, and the latest crisis to beset Afghanistan, which is struggling from deep cuts to aid funding, a weak economy and millions of people forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan.
