Death toll from Afghanistan earthquake rises to 1,124

BarcelonaThere are few images of what happened, but some are disturbing: desperate men trying to dig out victims trapped under the rubble with their bare hands in the middle of the night, using their cell phone flashlights to illuminate the scene. A magnitude 6 earthquake struck northeastern Afghanistan on Sunday night, devastating the outcome: at least 1,124 people died and 3,251 were injured, according to a Tuesday update from the Afghan Red Crescent, a humanitarian group working in the region.

The quake particularly affected Kunar province, a particularly mountainous area bordering Pakistan that, during the years of international troop presence in Afghanistan, became a trap for US soldiers due to its difficult access. There were also fatalities in the border province of Nangarhar, and injuries were even reported in Nuristan and Laghman, despite the distance between them and the earthquake's epicenter. In fact, the tremor was felt even in Kabul, the capital, located more than 150 kilometers away.

The earthquake was so deadly because it struck at night, when people were asleep at home, and because most of the villages in the affected areas are made of adobe construction. In fact, entire villages have been leveled, according to the BBC. After the first magnitude 6.0 quake, there were at least two more aftershocks measuring 5.2.

Local television Tolo News broadcast images showing dozens of destroyed adobe houses and people trying to search for survivors with their bare hands under the rubble. "Children, the elderly, and young people are still under the rubble. We need help to dig them out. Please help us," a desperate man said on camera.

In the face of the tragedy, the Taliban government has attempted to project an image of effectiveness. For example, its spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, held a press conference in Kabul to detail the number of victims and the affected areas, and to report that they have created a special committee to assist the victims. He also stated that they will allocate 1 billion Afghanis (approximately 12 million euros) to evacuate people from the devastated areas and distribute food and other essential supplies.

State media have also broadcast images of Taliban evacuating wounded men and boys in military helicopters. However, there are very few images of the devastated areas. On the one hand, because access is very difficult—most roads are dirt and many have been blocked—and internet connection is precarious. And on the other, because the Taliban maintain tight control over the press. Journalists are not allowed to travel across the country without Taliban permission and risk arrest if they publish information the extremists consider negative to their regime.

However, on Facebook, the social networking site par excellence used by Afghans, eyewitness accounts certifying the disaster have begun to spread. Some of the injured were taken to the provincial hospitals of Jalalabad and Asadabab, which are completely overwhelmed. Before the tragedy, care was already deficient in a health system that, during the two decades of international presence, depended entirely on foreign aid. Currently, patients must pay for medicines out of pocket, or even provide the necessary gauze or surgical supplies.

Other witnesses claim that priority is being given to men, while women are relegated to a secondary role. The area where the earthquake occurred is particularly conservative, and women rarely left the house, and if they did, they were covered from head to toe. Added to this is the fact that the Taliban do not allow male doctors to treat women, and the number of female doctors is extremely limited in Afghanistan today.

Eight kilometers deep

The U.S. Geological Survey has placed the epicenter of the main quake 27 kilometers east of Nangarhar province, on the border with Pakistan, and at a depth of eight kilometers, which usually amplifies the power of destruction. The initial earthquake was recorded on Sunday at 11:47 p.m. local time, and at least two aftershocks of magnitude 5.2 were produced.

Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindukush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. The last one was in October 2023, when a magnitude 6.3 quake struck the western province of Herat and left more than 2,000 dead, the deadliest in the last two decades. In 1998, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in northeastern Afghanistan killed at least 4,500 people.