What to know about the earthquake in Afghanistan where hundreds have died

A view of severely damaged houses after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province. Photo / Getty Images

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing hundreds of people and injuring more than 2500 others, authorities said.

Rescue workers were scrambling to reach communities in isolated, mountainous areas hit by the quake, which sent strong aftershocks into Kabul, the capital. So far, only a handful of countries have offered help to the Taliban Government.

The death toll, which authorities said was 800 today, is expected to rise.

Where did the earthquake hit?

The epicentre was near Jalalabad, an eastern city of about 200,000 people that is less than 160km from Kabul, the capital, and close to the Pakistan border.

The quake was shallow, just 8km from the earth’s surface, which made it more likely to be destructive. Soon after the initial shaking stopped, people scrambled in the middle of the night local time to reach neighbours trapped under the debris of collapsed houses, according to videos shared on social media.

At least four eastern Afghan provinces – Nangarhar, Nuristan, Laghman, and Kunar – had been affected by the quake, said Kate Carey, the deputy head of the United Nations’ office of humanitarian affairs in Afghanistan.

In the province of Kunar, north of Jalalabad, dozens of villages with mud and brick houses were hit.

Tremors were also felt in neighbouring Pakistan, where no major damage or casualties were immediately reported, officials said.

How many people are affected?

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, said at a news conference in Kabul today that 800 people had been killed and 2500 injured in Kunar province alone. In Nangarhar province, he said, at least 12 people were killed and 255 were injured.

Several villages were destroyed, Sharafat Amar, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health, said on X.

Homa Nader, the acting head of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Afghanistan, said it took Red Cross teams from Jalalabad four hours to reach the most affected area, in Nur Gal district, just 55km away. Today, the road linking Jalalabad to Kunar province reopened, and a steady stream of ambulances were rushing to the affected areas. In the other direction, dozens were ferrying victims back to Jalalabad.

Have aid workers reached the area?

Steep terrain in the worst-affected areas will pose a challenge to rescue workers, as the quake sent landslides over roads, Carey said. And aftershocks could continue to shake the area.

Even before the quake, less than 30% of Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs were covered for 2025, according to the UN, and more than half of its 42 million people were in need of aid. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, international assistance has gradually dwindled.

Under President Donald Trump, the United States, which last year provided 45% of the aid supplied to Afghanistan, has suspended or eliminated nearly all of its contributions.

Hundreds of hospitals and healthcare centres have shut down this year since the suspension of US foreign aid. Several European countries including Britain, France, and Sweden have also cut back on assistance.

As aid has dwindled, the population has swelled: more than two million Afghan nationals have returned to the country, in some cases by force, after being expelled from Pakistan or Iran amid a wave of xenophobia and political pressure in those countries.

More were scheduled to arrive in the coming days. The earthquake struck while many Afghans living in Pakistan were on their way to Afghanistan, before a deadline set by the Pakistani Government for all of them to leave or face arrest and deportation.

Which countries have offered to help?

As of today, Iran, India, Japan, and the European Union had committed support to victims, Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, the spokesperson for the Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview.

Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar of India said his country was sending 1000 tents and 15 tonnes of food aid, with more expected to follow.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and said that “the UN team in Afghanistan is mobilised and will spare no effort to assist those in need in the affected areas”.

How does the quake compare to others in the region?

Geological faults run through the region, which means that earthquakes are a prevalent danger in Afghanistan and other countries.

In October 2023, several major earthquakes rocked Afghanistan’s Herat province, killing nearly 1300 people and injuring around 1700 more, according to the UN.

A 5.9-magnitude temblor struck a remote area of Afghanistan’s southeast in 2022, causing immense damage and destruction.

The UN said at least 1300 people were killed in that quake, while the Taliban Government said at the time that more than 4000 people had died.

Written by: Amelia Nierenberg, Safiullah Padshah, Elian Peltier and Mike Ives

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES