Deadly quake leaves thousands buried and homeless in Afghanistan

Late on Sunday, as families in eastern Afghanistan were settling into their homes, the earth shook violently beneath them.

A powerful magnitude 6.0 earthquake ripped through Nangarhar province, with its epicentre near Jalalabad, and spread into neighbouring Kunar.

Within seconds, fragile mud-brick houses crumbled, entire hamlets disappeared under debris, and lives were changed forever.

Authorities say more than 800 people have been killed and nearly 3,000 injured, though the numbers are expected to rise sharply as rescuers reach cut-off areas. For many, the night turned into a desperate struggle for survival as roofs collapsed and walls buried sleeping families.

Villages wiped out
Eyewitness accounts paint a harrowing picture. In mountain hamlets, residents describe entire clusters of homes flattened, leaving nothing but dust and rubble.

Survivors are clawing through debris with bare hands, pulling out neighbours and relatives. In some communities, families have lost multiple members in a single night. “We heard screams, but the roads were gone,” one villager told reporters, describing the helplessness as landslides blocked rescue teams.

Rescue against the odds
The rugged terrain of eastern Afghanistan is compounding the crisis. Roads are blocked by landslides, forcing relief workers to travel on foot. Helicopters are being deployed to ferry the injured to Jalalabad and Asadabad, but even these efforts are hampered by aftershocks and damaged infrastructure.

Rescuers admit they are racing against time—each passing hour reduces the chances of finding survivors.

Hospitals at breaking point
Medical facilities are overwhelmed. In Jalalabad and Asadabad, hospitals are treating patients in corridors, courtyards, and even on the ground outside. Supplies of bandages, medicines, and surgical equipment are running dangerously low.

Exhausted doctors and nurses say they cannot cope without urgent international help. “We have more patients than beds, and more injuries than we can treat,” one health worker shared.

A plea for help
The Taliban government has appealed for global assistance, acknowledging that domestic resources are nowhere near enough.

International organisations, including the United Nations and the Red Cross, have pledged support in the form of tents, food, and medicines. But reaching remote mountain communities remains the biggest challenge.

For thousands of newly homeless families, tents may soon become the only shelter against the approaching winter chill.

A disaster in an already fragile nation
This earthquake has struck a country already battling economic collapse and dwindling humanitarian aid. Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure, built largely from mud and stone, leaves it particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.

For many survivors, the disaster is not just about the homes they lost but about the uncertain future that lies ahead—without livelihoods, without shelter, and without the assurance of enough aid to rebuild.

As night falls again over eastern Afghanistan, grief mixes with determination. Families keep digging, neighbours keep helping, and communities cling to hope.

But the tragedy has once again revealed how exposed the Afghan people remain—caught between natural forces and political turmoil, struggling to endure one disaster after another.

Video Partner: DW