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The United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT) has released satellite images showing the aftermath of a 6.0 magnitude earthquake with a death toll that has surpassed 1,400 and which left more than 3,000 injured, according to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Why It Matters
The earthquake is Afghanistan’s deadliest since the October 2023 Herat quakes that claimed over 2,400 lives, and the third major earthquake since the Taliban came to power in 2021.
Hedayat Shah/AP Photo
Many mountainous and remote villages were cut off by massive rockfalls, complicating rescue efforts and highlighting the country’s vulnerability to natural catastrophes. Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan continues to grapple with limited resources, economic sanctions and reduced international aid, making timely relief and recovery efforts even more challenging.
What To Know
Satellite imagery captured on Tuesday confirmed widespread structural damage across multiple districts in Nangarhar province, UNOSAT said.
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Numerous buildings have collapsed or have been damaged in Jalalabad, Goshta and Kama.
The earthquake rocked eastern Afghanistan late on Sunday, striking Kunar province, 16 miles east of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, near the border with Pakistan.
According to The Associated Press, Tuesday’s death toll figures provided by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid were just for the province of Kunar. The Taliban government has appealed for international humanitarian assistance and several countries and organizations have pledged aid.
What People Are Saying
Charity organization Save The Children said: “Children and their families were fast asleep in their homes—homes that are not built to withstand tremors of this magnitude…Roads have been blocked by rocks, cutting off villages and hampering rescue operations…The true scale of the devastation is still emerging, but we know that children are always the most vulnerable in the aftermath of a disaster.”
Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the health ministry in Kabul, called for international aid, according to The Guardian on Tuesday: “We need it because here lots of people lost their lives and houses.”
What Happens Next
Casualty figures are expected to rise further, the U.N. has warned.
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