Thousands of families were forced Monday (02.09.2025) to spend their first night out, without roofs over their heads, in areas of Afghanistanafter the earthquake 6 points that leveled entire communities, leaving over 800 dead and 2,700 injured, while many residents remain trapped in debris.
The earthquake hit the area shortly before midnight on Sunday to Monday at 23:47 (local time; 22:17 Greek time), waking up hundreds of thousands of people, from Kabul to Afghanistan to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, hundreds of kilometers. At least five strong aftershocks followed, including 5.2 points.
The epicenter of the earthquake was found 27 kilometers from Jalalambad, the capital of the Nangarhar province, and the focal depth was only 8 kilometers, which is likely to explain the very heavy account and extent of the disasters in the mountainous provinces.
In the Nurgal area, probably the heavier blow, in the province of Kunar, the endless seconds of the earthquake left a deep mental trauma to the inhabitants.
Houses “collapsed on women and children”, some of the victims “were killed instantly, others were injured,” said 22 -year -old Zafar Han Gjjar, who was transported by helicopter along with his injured brother in Jalalabad.
In the village of Wadir, dozens of residents were still looking for hours after it was night, missing in the ruins of houses that turned into debris.
In Mazar Dara, another small community, families left the ground, among them children, wrapped in white savannahs, as they want a Muslim ritual.
From dawn until the darkness fell yesterday, helicopters took off dozens of Jalalabad to distribute help, carry staff and bring dozens of dead and injured back, according to the defense ministry.
Many villages in areas that were hit harder remained inaccessible due to landslide blockages, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), part of the UN system, told the French Agency.
“The United Nations and our partners in Afghanistan are coordinating with the de facto authorities to immediately assess the needs, to distribute help that is urgently needed (the earthquakes) and we are ready to mobilize to provide further support,” he said, ” York. A $ 5 million was disbursed in principle from the UN Central Reserve Fund (CERF), he said.
After recapturing power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban regime was already confronted with a devastating earthquake: in 2023, in the province of Herat, at the other end of the territory, at the border with Iran, more than 1,500 people were destroyed. That 6.3 -magnitude earthquake had been described as the most murderous in the country – one of the poorest in the world – in more than 25 years.
This time, the still temporary report by the victims referring to 800 dead and 2,500 injured in Kunar province, as well as 12 other dead and 255 injured in Nangarhar, according to a representative of the de facto government by Zambioula Mujahid, who was expressed during a press conference. In Lagman province there are dozens of injuries, according to the same source.
The head of the Disaster Response Service in Kunar province Esanoula Esan, however, warned the AFP that “investigations are continuing, many people remain trapped in houses and we cannot therefore give an exact number”.
“It was scary, kids and women were screaming,” Izaz Ulhak Yadad, an official in Nourgak, told the French agency; the connection was still operating last night.
Most of them continued, the earthquakes had recently returned to Afghanistan from their exile in Pakistan and Iran, where successive waves of deportation were recorded lately – almost four million Afghans were repatriated.
“We had about 2,000 refugee families who had returned and intended to rebuild their homes” in this rural area, he calculated.
Because of the fear of aftershocks, “everyone was left out” in the countryside, he added.
Authorities, rescue and media outlets encounter many difficulties to reach villages and communities, as landslides have closed dozens of roads.
Afghanistan is often affected by strong earthquakes, especially the Hindu Cous Mountains area, near which the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plate intersects on the subsoil – 15% of the planet’s seismic energy is concentrated.
Since 1900, 12 earthquakes have been recorded in the northeast of the country, reminiscent of Brian Bapti of the British Institute of Geological Studies (BGS).
The one that took place on Sunday night to Monday made the atmosphere in the country. The Afghan national cricket, which welcomed the United Arab Emirates last night, has kept a minute’s silence in respect of the victims.