Earthquake in Afghanistan. Another tragedy in a country hit by a water crisis

Yesterday, just before midnight, an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale was recorded in Afghanistan. According to the Taliban Ministry of Interior, more than 800 people were killed, and many victims may still be trapped under the rubble. The humanitarian situation in the drought-stricken country is becoming dramatic.

What do we know about the tremors?

According to the United States Geological Survey, the American geological service monitoring seismic activity worldwide, the epicenter of the earthquake was located 27 km northeast of Jalalabad and primarily affected the mountainous provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar. The relatively shallow hypocenter – at a depth of about 8 km – caused the shocks to be felt even in Kabul and as far as 320 km away in Islamabad.

The area hit by the earthquake is among the most isolated in the country, which makes it difficult to assess the damage and provide aid to the victims. Afghan BBC correspondents report that homes in the local villages, built of clay, mud, and stone, collapsed under the impact of the tremors. The local Bakhtar News Agency reports that the villages of Wodir, Shomash, Masud, and Areet were completely destroyed.

Humanitarian disaster

The earthquake struck the residents of Kunar and Nangarhar at night, so most were unable to leave their homes in time. According to Mufti Abdual Mateen Qane, spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Interior, at least 812 deaths and 2600 injuries have been confirmed so far.

Doctors from the hospital in Asadabad in Kunar report that almost 200 patients were brought to them within hours – due to a lack of beds, some were placed on the floor. A similar situation is unfolding in the main hospital of Nangarhar province. Many victims have yet to be transported, as the earthquake triggered a landslide that blocked access roads to numerous towns.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a representative of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, assured that all rescue services had been mobilized. They are supported by international humanitarian aid groups that have long been working in the region, addressing the social impacts of armed conflicts, poverty, and climate change. The latter is one of the key causes of the water crisis – as we wrote in Water Affairs – Kabul could be the first city in the world to run out of water.

Another deadly earthquake in Afghanistan

Professor Chris Elders of Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences explains that Afghanistan lies at the junction of two tectonic plates – the Indian plate, known to be moving northward, pressing against the Eurasian plate. The result of this pressure is earthquakes.

In 2023, a series of tremors in Herat province killed more than 1,500 people. A similar toll was caused by an earthquake that occurred a year earlier in Paktika province.

As emphasized by Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Afghanistan is a country already suffering from a series of crises, ranging from severe drought to forced migrations imposed by Iran and Pakistan. He therefore called for aid to be delivered to the victims by all possible means.
Rebuilding the destroyed villages will be an enormous challenge in a country where funds and resources are nearly depleted. UNICEF warns that tens of thousands of families have left their homes in search of safe drinking water. An entire generation is growing up in the shadow of hunger caused by crop failures and cholera outbreaks triggered by contaminated water.

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main photo: Tasnim News Agency/Wikimedia