EARTHQUAKE IN EASTERN AFGANISTAN KILLS OVER 600

More than 622 people have been killed and over 1,500 injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, authorities said on Monday. Helicopters were seen airlifting the wounded as rescue teams continued to search through rubble in hopes of finding survivors. The disaster adds further strain to a country already facing multiple humanitarian challenges, including a sharp decline in foreign aid and mass deportations of Afghan nationals from neighbouring countries. The magnitude 6.0 quake caused extensive damage, with the Taliban-run interior ministry confirming the death toll at 622.

In the capital, Kabul, health officials said efforts were underway to reach remote villages in a region long vulnerable to earthquakes and flooding. “Initial reports from a handful of clinics show over 400 injured and dozens dead,” said Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the health ministry, warning that casualty figures could rise.

Footages showed helicopters transporting the injured, as residents joined soldiers and medical workers in carrying victims to ambulances. In Kunar province, three villages were completely destroyed, with many others sustaining significant damage. Local authorities reported 250 dead and 500 injured in the region, though the numbers remain fluid. One village alone reported at least 30 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The quake, which struck at midnight at a depth of just 10 km (6 miles), flattened homes made of mud and stone in the area bordering Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“So far, no foreign governments have offered support for rescue or relief efforts,” a spokesperson from Afghanistan’s foreign office said. The country is particularly prone to earthquakes due to its location along the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates converge. Last year, a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan claimed more than 1,000 lives, highlighting the severe risks faced by one of the world’s most impoverished and disaster-prone nations.