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<\/p>\nMore than 800 people have been killed and at least 2,800 injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday night, according to Taliban officials.<\/p>\n
The 6.0-magnitude quake hit the mountainous province of Kunar, near the Pakistan border, just before midnight, flattening several villages. Rescue operations are still under way, but authorities warn the death toll could rise as many areas remain inaccessible.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicentre was located about 17 miles northeast of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, at a shallow depth of 8km (five miles). Two smaller quakes\u2014measuring 4.5 and 5.2\u2014followed shortly after. Shallow tremors of this kind tend to cause severe destruction, particularly in rural areas where homes are built from mud, stone, and wood.<\/p>\n
The worst damage has been reported in the districts of Nur Gul, Soki, Watpur, Manogi and Chapadare. Local officials said some villages have been completely destroyed. \u201cThe figures for martyrs and injured are changing,\u201d said Sharafat Zaman, spokesman for Afghanistan\u2019s health ministry. Medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar, and Kabul have been dispatched to the area.<\/p>\n
[embedyt] https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DOlGD72if38[\/embedyt]<\/p>\n
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, confirmed ongoing rescue efforts by local residents and emergency teams. The Afghan Red Crescent said it had already deployed staff to provide urgent assistance to survivors.<\/p>\n
Afghanistan is highly prone to earthquakes, lying on a major tectonic fault line in the Hindu Kush mountains. Decades of conflict, poverty, and poor infrastructure have left the country especially vulnerable.<\/p>\n
The latest quake comes less than two years after a devastating 6.3-magnitude earthquake in October 2023 killed up to 4,000 people, the deadliest disaster in recent Afghan history. More than 1,000 others died in a separate series of quakes in the west of the country last year, leaving many still living in temporary shelters.<\/p>\n
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International aid agencies warn the disaster compounds Afghanistan\u2019s deepening crises. \u201cThis is a perfect storm,\u201d said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, noting the country\u2019s fragile humanitarian situation. Oxfam and other NGOs said reaching survivors in remote mountainous regions remains a major challenge.<\/p>\n
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So far, no foreign governments have offered direct assistance, though China has said it is prepared to provide help within its capacity. The UN mission in Afghanistan has also pledged support for relief operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 800 people have been killed and at least 2,800 injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern…","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[46,39,73,48,49,50,66],"class_list":["post-2419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-africa","tag-entertainment","tag-eswatini","tag-feature","tag-human-interest","tag-international","tag-opinion","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"yoast_head":"\n