Deadly earthquake wreaks havoc in Afghanistan’s Kunar province
At least 800 killed, thousands injured after magnitude 6.0 quake strikes eastern Afghanistan
Kabul, Sept. 1, 2025 — A massive rescue operation was underway in Afghanistan on Monday after a powerful earthquake and multiple aftershocks flattened homes in remote, mountainous Kunar province, killing more than 800 people and injuring at least 2,500, authorities said.
The quake, which struck just before midnight, was felt as far as Kabul and Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported the 6.0-magnitude tremor struck at a shallow depth of eight kilometres near Jalalabad, leaving more than 1.2 million people exposed to strong shaking.
In Kunar province, villages were reduced to rubble, with residents and officials scrambling to clear blocked roads and reach survivors. At least 12 deaths and 255 injuries were also reported in neighbouring Nangarhar province. “Numerous houses were destroyed,” interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani confirmed.
Authorities warned that many affected communities remain cut off due to landslides and poor communications. The Taliban government, backed by the United Nations, has mobilised troops, medical teams, and air support, with the defence ministry confirming 40 sorties so far.
Witnesses described scenes of panic as families fled collapsing homes. “There is a lot of fear and tension… children and women were screaming. We had never experienced anything like this in our lives,” said Ijaz Ulhaq Yaad, a resident of Nurgal district.
The UN migration agency cautioned that some of the hardest-hit areas are home to thousands of Afghan returnees from Iran and Pakistan, who had only recently rebuilt fragile homes.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed solidarity, saying: “I stand in full support with the people of Afghanistan after the devastating earthquake that hit the country earlier today.”
