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

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🗞️ 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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