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More than 800 dead after earthquake hits eastern Afghanistan, Taliban say

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By illuminem briefings

· 3 min read


illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near Jalalabad on Sunday night, killing at least 812 people and injuring more than 2,800, according to Taliban authorities
Entire villages in Konar and surrounding provinces have been reportedly destroyed, with rescue operations severely hampered by landslides and power outages

🔭 The context: Eastern Afghanistan lies along active fault lines, and has experienced several deadly earthquakes in recent years, including major events in 2022 and 2023
The region’s vulnerability is compounded by poor infrastructure, especially in rural mountainous areas where mud-built homes collapse easily during seismic activity
The Taliban-run government is operating with limited international recognition and reduced humanitarian support

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: This disaster adds strain to a country already grappling with widespread poverty, a collapsing healthcare system, and severe food insecurity
Humanitarian aid remains severely underfunded, raising concerns about Afghanistan’s ability to cope with recurring climate and disaster-related emergencies
It highlights the urgent need for sustained global humanitarian and disaster risk reduction support, even in geopolitically complex regions

⏭️ What's next: Relief efforts are ongoing, but access to remote villages remains limited
The Taliban has mobilized all available personnel, while calls for international humanitarian support are growing amid fears of a rising death toll
Aid organizations warn that this crisis could surpass the scale of Afghanistan's recent disasters unless urgent funding and access are provided
The situation is expected to evolve in the coming days as more affected areas are reached and assessed

💬 One quote: "This earthquake strikes a country already facing lack of global support for a severe humanitarian crisis." – Graham Davison, Afghanistan Director, CARE

📈 One stat: 23 million Afghans — nearly half the population — are already reliant on humanitarian aid, yet the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan is only 28% funded, according to CARE

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