Rescue workers in Afghanistan reportedly faced enormous obstacles on Monday after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the Pakistan border late Sunday, killing more than 800 people and leaving many others trapped under rubble in some of the country’s most remote and inaccessible regions.
The quake, centered near Jalalabad, devastated villages across the mountainous provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. With many homes reduced to piles of debris, officials warned the toll could climb rapidly in the coming days.
Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban call their administration, said more than 2,500 people were injured. “With many buried under the rubble, the death toll could still rise,” he noted.
Hundreds of casualties have already been airlifted to hospitals by the Taliban Defense Ministry, which said special flights were transporting both the injured and deceased.
Government rescue teams are on the ground, with more relief expected to arrive, though the scale of destruction appears to exceed available resources.
“This is the thin end of the wedge in terms of the number of people killed and injured,” said Katherine Carey, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Kabul. Based on similar earthquakes in Afghanistan, she warned, “the number of casualties is expected to double or even triple.”
The geography has compounded the crisis. “These are very remote, mountainous parts of Afghanistan that are difficult to reach at the best of times,” Ms. Carey said. Rescue workers have only a small window — 72 hours — to free survivors before it is too late.
Local officials described impassable conditions. “Meanwhile, some of the roads to the villages have been destroyed by landslides,” said Matiullah Shahab, who was assisting in Kunar province. “We are having a hard time in transferring the casualties to the hospitals.” With the local 200-bed hospital overwhelmed, many of the wounded lay in open areas awaiting care.
Women and children, asleep when the quake hit, made up many of the victims, Mr. Shahab said. Still, ordinary Afghans responded, with villagers driving to devastated provinces to help. At the Nangarhar Regional Hospital, “hundreds of young people have arrived to donate blood,” said Noorzad Khan, head of the local blood bank.
International humanitarian groups, including U.N. staff and NGOs, have reached some affected zones with shelter, food, and medical supplies. But their ability to respond has been sharply constrained by steep cuts in foreign aid.
The World Health Organization reported that U.S. funding cuts forced at least 80 health facilities in eastern Afghanistan to shut down earlier this year, leaving “hundreds of thousands” without basic care.
Leaders of India and Pakistan expressed condolences and offered assistance. No casualties were reported across the Pakistani border.
Afghanistan, located on active fault lines, is no stranger to tragedy. Last October, two powerful quakes killed at least 2,400. This week’s disaster, once again, finds the Afghan people at the mercy of nature — and with fewer lifelines from the outside world.
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