Third quake hits southeastern Afghanistan after deadly tremors kill over 2,200

Over 6,700 homes destroyed in Afghan quakes; UN warns toll may rise as 84,000 affected and aid needs grow fast

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck southeastern Afghanistan on Thursday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences said, the third tremor in the same region since Sunday, when one of the country’s deadliest quakes in years killed more than 2,200 people.

Naqibullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the health department in Nangarhar province, said the quake’s epicentre was in the remote Shiwa district near the Pakistan border, with initial reports of damage in the Barkashkot area, though details were still being collected.

The tremor, at a depth of 10 km (six miles), followed earlier quakes that flattened villages in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, left tens of thousands homeless, and injured more than 3,600 people.

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Rescue workers on Thursday pulled bodies from the rubble as the confirmed death toll rose to 2,205, with at least 3,640 people injured, according to the Taliban administration. Survivors have been left without shelter as aid groups warn of dwindling resources.

“Everything we had has been destroyed,” said Aalem Jan, whose house in Kunar province was flattened. “The only remaining things are these clothes on our backs.” His family sat under trees with their belongings piled next to them.

The first quake, magnitude 6, struck on Sunday at a shallow depth of 10 km (six miles), one of Afghanistan’s deadliest in recent years. A second quake of magnitude 5.5 on Tuesday caused panic and disrupted rescue efforts by triggering landslides and blocking roads to remote villages.

More than 6,700 homes have been destroyed, and the United Nations has warned the toll could rise as people remain trapped under rubble. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said humanitarian needs are “vast and growing rapidly,” with up to 84,000 people affected and thousands displaced.

In some Kunar villages, two out of three people were killed or injured, and 98% of buildings destroyed or damaged, according to an assessment by Islamic Relief Worldwide.

Survivors continue searching for family members, carrying bodies on stretchers and digging graves with pickaxes. Video showed trucks carrying flour and men with shovels heading into remote mountain villages, while commandos were airdropped into areas inaccessible to helicopters.

Afghanistan, prone to deadly quakes along the Hindu Kush range, faces extra risks as many homes built of stone and timber provide little protection. Aftershocks and recent heavy rains have left ground unstable, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

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Relief resources are scarce in the war-battered country of 42 million. US President Donald Trump’s foreign aid cuts and donor frustration over the Taliban’s restrictions on women and aid workers have deepened Afghanistan’s isolation.

The World Health Organization pointed to a $3 million funding gap needed for medicines, trauma kits and supplies. The UN World Food Programme said it can support survivors for only four more weeks.

“Afghanistan cannot be left to face one crisis after another alone,” said Jacopo Caridi of the Norwegian Refugee Council, urging donors to go beyond life-saving relief.