Over 800 Dead as 6.0-Magnitude Earthquake Devastates Eastern Afghanistan

The earthquakes came after the province in eastern Afghanistan was affected by flooding on Friday and Saturday, which devastated properties

More than 800 people have been killed and thousands injured after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday night, causing catastrophic damage across several provinces.

The hardest-hit areas were Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, near the border with Pakistan, though tremors were powerful enough to be felt in Kabul, located four and a half hours away. The quake struck just before midnight at a shallow depth of 8km, according to the US Geological Survey. A second earthquake of magnitude 4.5 followed about 20 minutes later, along with multiple aftershocks that continued into the morning.

Civil defense workers, locals, and army soldiers prepare to evacuate injured victims of an earthquake that killed hundreds and destroyed numerous villages in eastern Afghanistan, in Mazar Dara, Kunar province, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025

Officials confirmed that more than 2,500 people were injured in Kunar province alone, with entire villages destroyed. Homes built from mud and stone crumbled, while landslides buried houses and blocked roads, forcing rescue teams to reach some areas only on foot. Local authorities warned that casualty figures remain preliminary and are expected to rise as emergency teams gain access to remote mountain communities.

Residents described scenes of widespread devastation. Abdul Mateen, a fruit seller from Soki district, said he had lost two sons and two daughters, while 15 of his relatives, including his wife and brothers, were injured. “There is death in every home, and beneath the rubble of each roof, there are dead bodies,” he said.

Stretchers and ambulances are prepared to receive victims of an earthquake that killed hundreds and destroyed numerous villages in eastern Afghanistan, at Nangarhar Airport in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025

The Taliban government’s health ministry confirmed that dozens of villages across Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman and Nuristan provinces were flattened. In Nangarhar alone, 12 people were killed and more than 250 injured. At least 30 injuries, mostly women, were reported in Laghman, while assessments in Nuristan are still underway.

Rescue operations have been hampered by blocked roads and aftershocks. Helicopters conducted more than 40 flights from Nangarhar airport to Kunar, transporting over 350 injured people to Nangarhar Regional Hospital. Witnesses reported that in Mazar Valley, Kunar, hundreds of people were buried under debris, with women, children and the elderly among the victims. Local cleric Rehman Khan described mass funerals: “The death toll is so high that graveyards are filled with people and they are busy digging graves in advance as bodies keep arriving hour after hour.”

Children were among the injured

Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences and offered support, while UN Secretary-General António Guterres voiced solidarity with Afghans in the wake of the disaster.

The earthquakes struck just days after severe floods hit parts of Afghanistan, killing at least five people and washing away homes. The country, already facing a deep economic crisis, has been further destabilized by the suspension of US foreign aid and the forced return of more than two million Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan this year. According to the United Nations, over half of Afghanistan’s population of 42 million already requires humanitarian assistance.

Afghans donate blood for victims of an earthquake that killed hundreds and destroyed numerous villages in eastern Afghanistan, at Nangarhar Regional Hospital in Nangarhar, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025

Afghanistan sits on a major fault line where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making it one of the world’s most earthquake-prone regions. Last year, a series of tremors killed more than 1,000 people, while in 2023, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake devastated western Afghanistan, killing thousands in one of the deadliest disasters in recent memory.