Late on Sunday, August 31, 2025, a violent magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, finally becoming a national tragedy that will likely define this year’s humanitarian response.
The quake hit around 23:47 local time (UTC+4:30), with its epicenter in Nangarhar Province and a shallow depth of roughly 8 km (5 miles)—factors that amplified the devastation across the mountainous terrain.
Taliban authorities confirmed at least 800 deaths and over 2,500 injuries, although more recent assessments—including from the Afghan Red Crescent—suggest tolls could exceed 1,100 fatalities and 3,500 wounded.
The hardest hit are remote valleys in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, where entire villages made of fragile mud-brick structures were flattened.
Rescue efforts have become the country’s most urgent mission.
Teams of Afghan soldiers, doctors, and aid workers, supported by helicopters, are working to reach survivors in difficult terrain.
Forty emergency flights have already evacuated more than 420 wounded and deceased victims to hospitals across eastern provinces and Kabul.
In areas where roads are blocked by landslides, villagers and volunteers are digging through rubble with hand tools in search of survivors.
International agencies are moving quickly to back local responders.
The Red Crescent, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization have delivered emergency medical supplies, water, and temporary shelters.
Pakistan and India have offered cross-border relief, while the UN has urged a stronger global response to prevent worsening hardship.
The disaster strikes at a time when Afghanistan is already facing widespread hunger, drought, and economic collapse.
Communities with limited access to food and health care are now contending with destroyed homes and injured families, leaving the country at risk of a deeper humanitarian emergency.
For residents, the rescue mission has become a desperate race against time—balancing the search for survivors with urgent medical care and the need for shelter before another crisis unfolds.