Quote from Alex bobby on September 2, 2025, 6:32 AM

Aerial Search for Survivors After Afghan Quake Kills 800 People

Afghanistan is reeling from one of its deadliest natural disasters in recent memory after a powerful earthquake struck near the country’s eastern border with Pakistan, killing at least 800 people and injuring 1,800 others. Rescue operations are underway, with helicopters deployed to remote mountain villages where entire communities have been reduced to rubble.

The magnitude 6.0 quake, which hit on Sunday, left thousands homeless and many more feared trapped beneath collapsed homes. For survivors, the disaster compounds years of hardship in a nation already struggling with economic collapse, food shortages, and dwindling international aid.

A Difficult Rescue Effort

Rescue teams have faced enormous challenges reaching the worst-hit areas, particularly in Kunar province. Mountainous terrain, blocked roads, and unstable ground conditions have made ground access nearly impossible. Instead, helicopters have become lifelines. According to Taliban officials, 90 helicopter flights were carried out on Monday alone to evacuate survivors and deliver supplies.

Even with air support, conditions are proving treacherous. One Taliban source said that in the Mazar valley, a helicopter tried three times to land but was forced to abort due to the rough terrain. “There are villages here that no one has reached yet,” the source added, underscoring the scale of the disaster and the difficulties faced by rescuers.

Hospitals in nearby Jalalabad have been inundated with patients. Nangrahar Regional Hospital, which was already struggling to cope with hundreds of patients daily before the quake, is now overwhelmed. Medical staff are working around the clock to treat crush injuries, fractures, and severe blood loss.

Stories of Grief and Survival

Behind the numbers lie countless personal tragedies. Survivors’ testimonies reveal the scale of human suffering that statistics alone cannot capture.

In one devastated village, Mir Zaman described the moment he dug his dead children out of the rubble with his bare hands and a borrowed shovel. “It was dark. There was no light. Someone lent me a lamp, and then I used a shovel and pick axe to dig them out. There was no one to help because everyone was affected. So many people died in my village. Some are still buried. Whole families have died,” he told the BBC.

For young Maiwand, a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, the disaster left him with head injuries and severe blood loss. His uncle, Khawat Gul, pleaded at the hospital: “You can see his situation. It’s so tragic. The earthquake was deadly. I want the doctors to treat him, to cure him.”

At Nangrahar Hospital, another survivor, Nader Khan, broke down as he recounted the loss of two sons and two daughters-in-law. Now in his 60s, Khan said he managed to save two grandchildren but is uncertain of their whereabouts. “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, his voice heavy with grief.

These stories reflect a wider reality: whole communities have been devastated, and the emotional scars will last far beyond the physical rebuilding.

An Appeal for Help

The Taliban government has issued urgent appeals for international aid. Afghanistan’s location along tectonic fault lines makes it especially vulnerable to earthquakes, but the disaster comes at a particularly fragile moment. The country is in the grip of a severe drought and what the United Nations has described as an “unprecedented crisis of hunger.” International sanctions and aid cuts—especially from the United States—have worsened the humanitarian situation.

“This disaster couldn’t have come at a worse time,” said Amy Martin, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan. She emphasised that survivors will need immediate support in the form of housing, shelter, blankets, and food supplies.

The United Nations has already released emergency funds, while Britain pledged £1m ($1.3m) in aid. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that funds would be channelled through the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Red Cross to ensure aid reaches those most in need.

India has also stepped in, delivering 1,000 tents to Kabul and arranging for 15 tonnes of food to be transported to Kunar province. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar pledged further relief items, noting that his country was coordinating directly with Taliban officials. Meanwhile, China and Switzerland have also promised support.

Vulnerability to Disaster

Afghanistan is no stranger to earthquakes. Sitting on the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, the region is one of the most seismically active in the world. In 2022, a magnitude 6.1 quake in Paktika province killed over 1,000 people and injured many more.

But each disaster highlights the same stark reality: Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure and limited emergency response capacity make its people particularly vulnerable. The country lacks robust building codes, and many rural homes are constructed from mud-brick, which collapses easily under seismic stress. Combined with limited healthcare services and restricted aid access, even moderate quakes can have catastrophic consequences.

A Long Road Ahead

For survivors of Sunday’s earthquake, the immediate future is uncertain. Thousands have been left homeless as winter approaches, compounding the need for shelter and heating. The destruction of homes and farmland threatens to worsen food insecurity in a nation already teetering on the brink of famine.

International aid will be critical, but long-term resilience requires more than emergency relief. Strengthening infrastructure, expanding healthcare, and creating disaster-response mechanisms are essential to mitigate future tragedies. Yet, given Afghanistan’s political isolation and ongoing economic crisis, achieving such goals remains a distant prospect.

Looking Forward

In the days ahead, the focus will remain on search-and-rescue operations, but the challenges are immense. As winter edges closer, the need for housing, medical care, and food security will become urgent priorities for survivors. Whether international promises of aid translate into meaningful, timely relief will determine how communities endure in the weeks to come. Longer term, Afghanistan faces the pressing question of how to strengthen its disaster preparedness in a region where earthquakes are inevitable but mass casualties should not be.

Final Thought

The devastation in eastern Afghanistan is a stark reminder of how fragile life can be in a country already burdened by crisis. Beyond the statistics of lives lost and injured, there are families torn apart, children orphaned, and communities erased. The true test lies not only in how quickly survivors are rescued, but in how the world responds—whether with fleeting sympathy or with sustained support to help Afghans rebuild their lives and prepare for the disasters yet to come.

Conclusion

As helicopters scour the mountains for survivors and families mourn their losses, Afghanistan finds itself once again at the epicentre of human tragedy. The earthquake that killed 800 people and injured 1,800 more has revealed not only the country’s physical vulnerability but also the fragility of a nation in crisis. While international aid offers some relief, the scale of destruction and suffering underscores the urgent need for both immediate humanitarian support and long-term investment in resilience. For now, Afghanistan grieves, digs through rubble, and clings to hope—one helicopter flight at a time.

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Rescuers in Afghanistan use helicopters to reach remote villages after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake kills 800 and injures 1,800. Survivors face tragedy, blocked roads, and urgent need for international aid.