More than 800 killed while the earthquake destroys the villages in eastern Afghanistan

An earthquake has destroyed many villages in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 800 people and injuring more than 2,500, a spokesman for the Taliban government said on Monday.

The magnitude 6.0 earthquake late Sunday Sunday, a series of cities in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad, in the neighboring province of Nangahar, causing many damage.

Images of Nangarhar have shown that people were frantically digging through the rubble with their hands, looking for dear beings in the middle of the night. The wounded were taken by a stretcher outside the collapsed buildings and in helicopters. The villagers of Kunar gave interviews outside of their destroyed houses.

The catastrophe will further extend the resources of the South Asian nation already struggling with humanitarian crises, from a sharp drop in aid to a huge decline in its citizens from neighboring countries.

The earthquake at 11:47 p.m. was centered on 27 kilometers in the east-north of the city of Jalalabad in the province of Nangarhar, said US Geological Survey. It was only eight kilometers deep.

Less deep earthquakes tend to cause more damage. Several replicas followed.

A Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid died and injured the tolls on Monday at a press conference. He said most of the victims were in the province of Kunar.

Buildings in Afghanistan tend to be constructions of low height, mainly concrete and bricks, with houses in rural and peripheral areas in mud and wood bricks. Many are of poor construction.

The number of deaths should increase

One of the most affected areas in Kunar, a resident of the Nurgal district, said almost the whole village had collapsed.

“The children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. The young people are under the rubble,” said the villager, who has not given his name. “We need help here. We need people to come here and join us. Depending on the people who are buried. There is no one who can come and remove the corpses under the rubble.”

East Afghanistan is mountainous, with remote areas. The earthquake has worsened communications.

Rescue operations are underway and Kunar medical teams, Nangarhar and the capital of Kabul arrived in the region, said the spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Sharafat Zaman.

Zaman said that many regions had not been able to report injury figures and that “the figures had to change” as deaths and injuries are reported. Taliban government-chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that “all available resources will be used to save lives”.

Nearby, Jalalabad is a lively commercial city because of its proximity to neighboring Pakistan and a key border crossing between countries. Although it has a population of around 300,000 inhabitants according to the municipality, it is considered a much larger metropolitan region.

Jalalabad also has considerable agriculture and agriculture, including citrus fruits and rice, with the Kabul river flowing through the city.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 hit Afghanistan on October 7, 2023, followed by high aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated that at least 4,000 people have perished in this earthquake. The UN gave a much lower assessment of about 1,500.

It was the deadliest natural disaster of hitting Afghanistan in recent memory.

Afghanistan is subject to mortal earthquakes, especially in the Hindu mountain range in Kush, where Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.