Over 250 killed as 6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes eastern Afghanistan

Kabul: A powerful earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale struck Afghanistan’s Kunar Province near the Pakistan border on August 31, leaving at least 250 people dead and more than 500 injured, according to the state-run Bakhtar News Agency.The quake, centered 27 km east-northeast of Jalalabad at a shallow depth of 8 km, caused widespread destruction in Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar. Entire villages, including Mazar-e-Dara in Nurgal District, were reduced to rubble, with mud-and-rock homes collapsing under the tremors.

At least 13 aftershocks, including one measuring 4.5, triggered landslides that blocked vital roads, severely hampering rescue and relief operations.

The tremor was strongly felt in Pakistan’s Islamabad and Lahore, as well as parts of northern India, including Delhi.

The Taliban administration has deployed local rescue teams, but officials admitted that limited resources have slowed the response. Calls have been made for urgent international aid as hospitals remain overwhelmed, forcing some patients to be airlifted.

The United Nations and humanitarian organisations have begun mobilising food supplies, medical aid, and emergency shelters. Officials fear that the death toll may rise further as rescue workers continue to dig through collapsed structures in remote villages.