Kabul: Afghanistan is reeling from a double earthquake that struck its eastern provinces earlier this week, leaving at least 1,457 people dead and thousands more injured. The tremors, measuring 6.0 and 5.5 on the Richter scale, flattened homes, triggered landslides, and reduced entire mountain villages in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces to rubble. Rescue workers describe the disaster as one of the deadliest natural calamities to strike the region in recent years.
According to officials, more than 6,700 homes have been destroyed, displacing families who now have no shelter except makeshift tents. Survivors are struggling in harsh conditions, many cut off from basic supplies. “Everything we had has been destroyed our house collapsed, and all our belongings were lost. The only remaining things are these clothes on our backs,” a grieving resident from Kunar told local media.
Relief operations have been hampered by the rugged geography. Narrow mountain passes, blocked roads, and continuing aftershocks have slowed ground response, forcing authorities to rely on helicopters. Afghan forces even air-dropped commandos into inaccessible valleys to speed up rescue missions. Despite these efforts, thousands remain trapped without proper medical care or food, and the window for saving lives is rapidly closing.
The humanitarian fallout is deepening as relief agencies warn of crippling shortages. The World Food Programme (WFP) has cautioned that its food stock in Afghanistan will last only four more weeks, while the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted a $3 million shortfall in emergency medical funds. Aid workers estimate that nearly 84,000 people have been affected, with many requiring urgent medical attention, clean water, and temporary shelter.
The disaster has underscored the challenges of Afghanistan’s international isolation under Taliban rule. While local and international humanitarian groups are mobilizing, international donors remain cautious, limiting the scale of assistance. The Norwegian Refugee Council has urged the global community not to let Afghanistan slip further into neglect, warning that the country cannot withstand repeated cycles of disaster without stronger international engagement.
For survivors, the tragedy is more than a single moment of destruction it has unleashed a humanitarian crisis that could deepen if aid does not arrive swiftly. With food stocks dwindling, health facilities overwhelmed, and entire communities displaced, Afghanistan faces a race against time to prevent further loss of life.