Eastern Afghanistan has been rocked by a devastating series of earthquakes, culminating in a powerful magnitude-6.0 tremor late on Sunday, August 31, 2025, and a strong magnitude-5.2 aftershock just two days later. The epicenter of the initial quake was near Jalalabad, a bustling city of about 200,000 people, situated less than 100 miles from Kabul and close to the Pakistani border. The aftershock struck at 12:29 local time on September 2, only 34 kilometers from Jalalabad and at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey. These shallow depths made the quakes particularly destructive, upending entire communities and leaving a trail of devastation across at least four eastern provinces: Nangarhar, Nuristan, Laghman, and Kunar.
The impact has been catastrophic. By Tuesday, September 2, the death toll had soared above 1,400, with more than 3,100 people injured, according to statements from both the Taliban government and aid agencies. The World Health Organization estimated that at least 12,000 people were directly affected, while the Red Crescent reported the destruction of about 8,000 homes. Entire villages, especially in the mountainous and remote Kunar province, have been wiped out, leaving survivors reeling and rescue efforts hampered by landslides and blocked roads.
Rescue operations have been nothing short of heroic, but also fraught with immense challenges. Helicopters have become lifelines, airlifting more than 600 people to Jalalabad and Kabul after landslides rendered many roads impassable. In some of the hardest-hit villages, rough terrain made even helicopter landings nearly impossible. A Taliban source recounted how a chopper failed to land after three attempts in the rugged Mazar valley. The BBC reported firsthand accounts from survivors like Bas Marjana, who described being rescued from the rubble of her home only to discover that eight of her grandchildren and her daughter-in-law had perished. "We were all in deep, peaceful sleep when... a sudden tremor struck, and the world turned upside down," she told the BBC.
Other survivors shared equally harrowing stories. Nader Khan, an elderly man recovering at Jalalabad's Nangrahar Regional Hospital, wept as he recounted losing two sons and two daughters-in-law. "I injured my head and spine, so I couldn't move to save them... I don't know what has happened to the bodies of my sons," he said. Mir Zaman told the BBC he had to dig his dead children out of the rubble himself, using a lamp and a shovel, because everyone in his village was affected and help was nowhere in sight. "So many people died in my village. Some are still buried. Whole families have died," he lamented.
Children have been among the most vulnerable. Two-and-a-half-year-old Maiwand suffered head injuries and severe blood loss. "You can see his situation. It's so tragic. The earthquake was deadly. I want the doctors to treat him, to cure him," pleaded his uncle, Khawat Gul. Dr. Noor Saba at Spinghar Medical in Jalalabad reported that about half of the 100 patients admitted since Sunday were women, and that many had suffered serious injuries, including head trauma, spinal injuries, fractured legs, and broken backs. "Some had head injuries, others had spinal or other body parts injured. Seven or eight underwent surgery. One had a fractured leg, another had a broken back," she explained to the BBC.
Humanitarian organizations have rushed to provide assistance, though the scale of need is overwhelming. Save the Children dispatched medical teams to Kunar province, where thousands are in urgent need of food, water, and shelter. Dr. Shaheer, a volunteer with the organization, described the dire situation: "The situation of children is severe. If they do not receive support, children in the earthquake-affected areas will face nutrition, health, and other challenges." Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams reached hospitals in Nangarhar and Laghman provinces, both already stretched to capacity before the disaster. "We saw many patients treated in the corridors and health workers in need of supplies," said Fazal Hadi, MSF's deputy medical coordinator, emphasizing the need for the humanitarian response to "scale up urgently."
The international response has been swift, though complicated by Afghanistan's political isolation. The Taliban government, recognized only by Russia, has appealed for global assistance. The United Nations unlocked $5 million in emergency funds, and the UK pledged £1 million (around $1.3 million) in aid, which Foreign Secretary David Lammy said would be "channeled through experienced partners," including the UN Population Fund and the International Red Cross. India has delivered 1,000 tents to Kabul and is helping transport 15 tonnes of food to Kunar province. China, Switzerland, Iran, Japan, and the European Union have also pledged support, with the EU working alongside UNICEF. The World Health Organization is assisting hospitals and deploying additional supplies and teams to the affected areas.
Yet, the challenges remain daunting. Even before the earthquake, Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs for 2025 were less than 30 percent covered, according to the UN, with more than half of the country's 42 million people in need of aid. Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, international assistance has dwindled dramatically. The United States, which last year provided nearly half of Afghanistan’s foreign aid, has suspended almost all contributions, leading to the closure of hundreds of hospitals and health centers in 2025. European countries such as Britain, France, and Sweden have also reduced their aid, while the population has swelled due to the forced return of more than two million Afghan nationals from neighboring Pakistan and Iran.
Donor countries remain wary of providing direct assistance to the Taliban government. A recent report by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction highlighted concerns, stating, "The Taliban use every means at their disposal, including force, to ensure that aid goes where they want it to go, as opposed to where donors intend." As a result, much of the pledged aid is being routed through international agencies to avoid misuse.
Complicating the tragedy further, the earthquake struck as Afghanistan grapples with a severe drought and what the UN has called an unprecedented hunger crisis. Massive aid cuts, especially from the US in 2025, have left millions even more vulnerable. The timing of the disaster, as BBC correspondents put it, "couldn't have come at a worse time."
Afghanistan’s susceptibility to earthquakes is well-known, with geological faults crisscrossing the region. In October 2023, a series of major quakes in Herat province killed nearly 1,300 people, and a 5.9-magnitude tremor in 2022 claimed at least 1,300 lives according to the UN, though the Taliban government put the toll at more than 4,000. Sunday's quake, however, stands out as one of the deadliest in recent years, both for its immediate toll and for the humanitarian crisis it has intensified.
As the dust settles and the aftershocks subside, the people of Afghanistan are left to pick up the pieces—often quite literally. With international aid inching its way through political and logistical barriers, the resilience of survivors and the dedication of local and international aid workers are being tested to their limits. The world watches, hoping that help will reach those who need it most before the next tremor shakes this already fragile land.