KABUL, Sept 1: A devastating 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday night, killing at least 800 people and injuring more than 2,500, according to figures released by the Taliban government.
The tremor, centred near Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, struck at 11:47 pm and was shallow in depth, intensifying its destructive impact.
Kunar province was reported as the worst affected, with entire villages reduced to rubble.
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Rescue efforts continued through the night, with desperate survivors digging with bare hands to locate missing relatives as buildings collapsed around them.
Many victims, including children and the elderly, remained trapped under debris, while emergency teams rushed in from Kunar, Nangarhar, and Kabul to provide medical assistance.
Eyewitnesses described the quake as feeling like “the whole mountain was shaking,” with homes collapsing within seconds and people screaming for help.
Survivors recounted harrowing escapes, while others mourned the loss of multiple family members. Poorly constructed houses of mud brick and wood in rural areas added to the scale of destruction.
Authorities cautioned that the death toll could rise as reports from remote mountainous areas are still awaited.
Taliban officials assured that all available resources would be deployed for rescue and relief operations.
The disaster comes less than two years after a similar quake in 2023 that killed thousands, underlining Afghanistan’s vulnerability to natural calamities.
