Afghan Earthquake Death Toll Nearly Doubles As Rescue Efforts Continue

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By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
September 4, 2025

The death toll from a massive earthquake in Afghanistan last week has nearly doubled to 2,205 as rescue workers manage to access the remote mountainous area devastated by the disaster.

Hamdullah Fitrat, a spokesman for the Taliban-led government who gave the updated casualty figures on September 4, said deliveries of first aid and emergency supplies are “ongoing” as volunteers and rescue workers negotiate treacherous terrain to reach villages where people remain trapped in the rubble.

Authorities in the impoverished, war-ravaged nation have pleaded with countries to send aid, which had stopped flowing into the country after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

Further complicating aid efforts have been several powerful aftershocks, including a 4.7-magnitude tremor early on September 4. The initial earthquake late on August 31 measured 6.0.

“Tents have been installed for displaced families in multiple locations, and the organized distribution of primary and urgent humanitarian assistance is currently under way,” Fitrat wrote in a social media post, adding at least 3,640 people were injured in the earthquake.

The Taliban-led government has not been officially recognized by any country besides Russia, although aid groups have attempted to maintain contacts despite barriers put up by the de facto rulers.

Humanitarian groups have been warning that a lack of access to hygiene supplies, medical help, and emergency shelters are putting many, especially women and girls, at risk.

The disaster comes at a time when hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees are being forced to return from neighboring countries, a move that had already put the country’s social services under severe strain.

Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, with the last one occurring in October 2023. In that case, the death toll rose steadily as emergency work continued. The Taliban gave a final figure of 4,000 dead, although the United Nations said the figure was around 1,500.

The latest quake struck at around 11:45 p.m. on August 31 and was centered some 27 kilometers northeast of Jalalabad in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, according to the US Geological Survey(USGA).

The USGA said the quake was 8 kilometers deep, a relatively shallow level that often causes greater damage than deeper temblors.

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Afghanistan’s Mines under Taliban Contracts: Short-Term Revenues, Long-Term Costs

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8am: Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, the group’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has signed more than 205 mining contracts with domestic and foreign companies. These agreements cover the extraction of copper, gold, coal, chromite, oil, and gas across various provinces. A review of documents and reports reveals that many of these contracts lack essential environmental and social impact assessments, thereby increasing the likelihood of severe consequences for the environment, public health, and the country’s long-term economic stability. Click here to read more (external link).

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Afghan Man Loses 10 Family Members In Devastating Earthquake

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By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi and Frud Bezhan
September 3, 2025

MAZAR DARA, Afghanistan — Wazir Khan was asleep when a devastating earthquake struck his remote village in eastern Afghanistan.

The midnight tremor flattened his home in the village of Mazar Dara in the eastern province of Kunar, trapping his family under rubble.

Khan survived. But most members of his family in Mazar Dara were killed on August 31.

“It was around 11:30 [at night] when there was a tremor and I found myself under the rubble,” Khan told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. “In that moment, I lost 10 members of my family.”

Khan’s family members were among more than 1,400 people killed in one of Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquakes in years. The Taliban government said another 3,000 people were injured.

The magnitude-6.0 earthquake flattened thousands of homes and destroyed entire villages in Kunar, a mountainous province bordering Pakistan, and neighboring provinces. A second earthquake on September 2 prompted panic and interrupted rescue efforts.

The deadly tremor has exacerbated the devastating humanitarian and economic crises that have gripped the impoverished country since the Taliban seized power in 2021. The militant group’s takeover triggered major cuts to international assistance.

Nasirullah, Khan’s son, was among those wounded in the first tremor. He was sleeping with his father on the roof of their mudbrick home when the earthquake hit.

“I fell from the roof and injured my head,” Nasirullah, his head heavily bandaged, told Radio Azadi. “I was buried up to my chest in the rubble, but I immediately pulled myself out and helped my father.”

Emergency services have struggled to reach remote villages. Thousands of people are living out in the open and are struggling to access food, drinking water, and shelter.

Recent flooding in the region and rugged terrain have complicated rescue efforts. In some areas, villagers have used their bare hands to clear the rubble in their race to find survivors.

“We are seven families staying together under one tent,” said Khan. “We have no proper shelter.”

Most of the dead have been buried in hastily dug graves. But some remain unburied due to the sheer number of casualties and lack of equipment.

“Last night, we sat under the tent holding our children, with three bodies beside us,” Khan said.

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Taliban, Resistance Front Clash In Afghanistan’s Baghlan Province

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Afghanistan International: The fighting broke out around 9 p.m. in the Kahgdai area of Nahrin district and lasted for nearly an hour, the sources said. No casualty figures have been confirmed.  Kahgdai is known as a stronghold of the Resistance Front, which has previously battled Taliban forces in the area. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan triumphs over Pakistan in Sharjah clash

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Ariana: Afghanistan’s national cricket team secured a remarkable victory over Pakistan by 18 runs in their third match of the Sharjah Tri-Nation Series. This win marks Afghanistan’s first triumph over Pakistan in this tournament, following a previous defeat where Pakistan won by 39 runs. Looking ahead, Afghanistan is scheduled to face the United Arab Emirates again on Friday. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan Women And Girls ‘Bear The Brunt’ Of Earthquake Amid Taliban Restrictions

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By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi and Una Cilic
September 3, 2025

A massive earthquake this week that killed more than 1,400 people in Afghanistan has left women, already struggling under the strict rules of the Taliban-led government, vulnerable because of a lack of support.

The 6.0 magnitude quake has devastated the eastern part of the country near the border with Pakistan, injuring thousands in a remote area difficult for rescue workers and care givers to reach.

Experts warn that women and girls will be among those most affected by the disaster and “bear the brunt” of it as they face cultural and legislated impediments to accessing hospital care and other restrictions on support.

Women are banned by the Taliban from being treated by male doctors.

But since their return to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed numerous additional bans on women, including a December 2024 measure that forbids women from pursuing medical education or taking final medical training exams.

Given that there are almost no female doctors in the region, let alone the country, many women will fail to receive medical care quickly enough, according to Abdul Qayum Raheem, an Afghan doctor.

“Earthquakes are a matter of minutes and seconds, delay in escaping can cause more casualties to women,” Raheem told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.

“People in villages know that there are not enough female staff in the hospital and cannot dare to take their wounded women and girls to health facilities. The families are trying to treat the minor wounded women locally, instead of taking them to hospital.”

A spokesman for the Taliban government’s Ministry of Public Health did not respond to questions from Radio Azadi over reports that women were not receiving adequate health care amid signs from the affected area that appear to bear out such fears.

Although most of the more than 3,000 casualties reported so far have been women and children, the head of the hospital in Kunar Province said that only 13 women are currently hospitalized there, while the number of hospitalized men is 67.

One man told Radio Azadi that his pregnant wife suffered a miscarriage after failing to get proper medical treatment following the earthquake.

“When the earthquake hit, she was giving birth and it was going very badly,” he said.

“She is now in a government hospital, but she has not recovered and is in the same condition as before. This is because there are no female doctors and no medicine.”

According to a female doctor in Kabul who spoke recently to Radio Azadi, remote areas often only have community midwives or nurses. In some areas there is neither.

Nilofar Ayoubi, a human rights activist from Afghanistan, told RFE/RL the aftermath of the earthquake is growing increasingly alarming, especially for women and children.

“This dire shortage has forced many families to transport their injured women and girls to Jalalabad city, the nearest urban center,” said Ayoubi, who fled to Poland after Taliban returned to power.

“However, hospitals in Jalalabad are themselves overwhelmed, struggling with the same lack of essential supplies and a severe shortage of female medical staff.”

This was Afghanistan’s third major deadly earthquake since the Taliban returned to power.

In June 2022, a powerful earthquake shook Paktia, Paktika, and Khost provinces According to the assessment carried out by the International Rescue Committee in Khost at the time, women and girls were most affected by the earthquake.

A year later in Herat Province, some 1,500 people were killed in an earthquake with women and girls comprising the majority of the death toll, according to UNICEF.

UN Women Afghanistan said on September 2 it fears the response — from urgent medical assistance and care to safe shelter and protection — to this week’s earthquake will again fail to prioritize women.

“Women and girls will again bear the brunt of this disaster, so we must ensure their needs are at the heart of the response and recovery,” UN Women Afghanistan Special Representative Susan Ferguson said.

“This includes supporting the vital work of women humanitarians – otherwise women and girls could miss out on lifesaving assistance or information in the days ahead.”

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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More Than 1,400 Dead In Afghanistan Earthquake As Aid Struggles To Reach Remote Villages

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By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
September 2, 2025

GHAZI ABAD VILLAGE, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan — More than 1,400 people are reported dead and thousands of others injured as aid workers continue to battle to get to a remote mountainous region of Afghanistan following a devastating earthquake that flattened villages.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, said on September 2, two days after the 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Jalalabad close to the Pakistan border, that the death tolled had reached 1,411, with more than 3,100 others injured.

“This village is completely destroyed. There’s no one alive. We request the government to take care of the people of the village. The damage is beyond our capabilities, we can’t remove the stone, the rubble,” Sediqullah, the tribal leader of the village of Ghazi Abad in Nangarhar province, told RFE/RL.

A resident of the village added: The village is gone, there’s nothing left.”

The Taliban-led government has not been officially recognized by any country besides Russia, although aid groups have attempted to maintain contacts despite barriers put up by the de facto rulers.

Amnesty International has put out a call for “urgent humanitarian aid,” but the London-based rights organization also blasted the Taliban for making rescue operations more difficult. It also assailed Pakistan for its forced repatriation of nearly 2 million Afghan refugees, saying it exasperated the woes.

“The Taliban de facto authorities have also been responsible for the shrinking of operations of humanitarian and aid agencies in the country due to restrictive policies and a ban on Afghan women working for the UN as well as other NGOs in Afghanistan. This is part of the Taliban’s systematic attack on human rights in the country,” Amnesty said in a statement.

International organizations preparing assistance have made efforts to stress that all aid will go to the victims and not into the hands of the Taliban leaders.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world organization was working with authorities to “swiftly assess needs, provide emergency assistance, and stand ready to mobilize additional support.”

The disaster comes at a time when the impoverished country struggles with cutbacks in international aid over the Taliban’s seizure of power and the return of hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries.

“The villages there are built in a way that the homes are basically in a stepped terrace situation,” Salam Al-Janabi, the UNICEF spokesman in Kabul, told RFE/RL.

“It means these homes are toppling on top of each other. And this is why we’re seeing such large numbers of casualties.”

Al-Janabi said “at the moment you have all UN agencies in Afghanistan surging over there,” and that some 600 homes were destroyed.

“Where are these families staying? Where are these children staying? Maybe it will be fine for just now to stay under a tent…within the next three weeks it’s going to get colder in this area very soon.”

Injured survivors were being airlifted from the remote, mountainous region by helicopter. Taliban officials said the terrain made it difficult to get aid and emergency workers to the scene.

Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, with the last one occurring in October 2023. In that case, the death toll rose steadily as emergency work continued. The Taliban gave a final figure of 4,000 dead, although the United Nations said the figure was around 1,500.

The latest quake struck around 11:45 p.m. on August 31 and was centered some 27 kilometers northeast of Jalalabad in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, according to the US Geological Survey(USGA).

Modelling by the USGA earlier suggested that the estimated number of deaths could rise to hundreds of people.

The USGA said the quake was 8 kilometers deep, a relatively shallow level that often causes greater damage than deeper temblors.

A 4.5-magnitude quake struck in the region some 20 minutes later, followed by another aftershock of 5.2 magnitude, according to the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ).

Residents of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad — more than 300 kilometers away — reported feeling buildings shaking.

Residents of Kabul — about 100 kilometers away — were also shaken.

The quake comes after Nangarhar Province was hit by heavy flooding over the weekend that killed at least five people and destroyed crops and property.

With reporting by Reuters

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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