Afghanistan: A powerful earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, killing at least 622 people and injuring over 1,500, as officials race to reach remote villages devastated by the tremor.
The National Center for Seismology in India confirmed the magnitude, while the US Geological Survey reported that the quake’s epicentre was located near Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, about 27 kilometres northeast of the city, at a shallow depth of 8 kilometres.
The tremor struck at 11:47 p.m. local time, shaking communities across Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan. Shallow quakes are typically more destructive, and early reports indicate widespread devastation across scattered villages.
Initial figures released by Afghanistan’s health ministry confirmed at least 30 deaths in a single village, though officials cautioned that the toll could rise sharply as information flows in from isolated areas. “The number of casualties and injuries is high, but since the area is difficult to access, our teams are still on site,” health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said.
Provincial authorities said most fatalities were reported in Kunar province, with Sediqullah Quraishi Badloon, a communications official for Nangarhar, telling the New York Times that 250 deaths had been recorded.
The UN in Afghanistan is deeply saddened by the devastating earthquake that struck the eastern region & claimed hundreds of lives, injuring many more. Our teams are on the ground, delivering emergency assistance & lifesaving support. Our thoughts are with the affected communities pic.twitter.com/rCE6b3WzSU
— UN Afghanistan (@unafghanistan) September 1, 2025
He added that nine people were confirmed dead in Nangarhar. The BBC, citing sources in Kunar, reported that “hundreds are dead,” with many more critically injured.
Provincial information head Najibullah Hanif said hundreds of injured people had been rushed to hospitals in Jalalabad and surrounding districts. Medical facilities are struggling to cope with the influx, and officials fear the toll will climb as rescuers reach hamlets tucked into mountainous terrain along the border with Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.
Many of the collapsed structures were mud-brick and stone houses, typical in rural Afghanistan, which are highly vulnerable to seismic shocks. Jalalabad, a bustling trading hub of about 300,000 people and a key border city, also reported widespread damage, particularly in poorly built outlying settlements.
Afghanistan is among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, lying along the collision zone of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Last year, a series of quakes in the west killed more than 1,000 people, while in October 2023, a magnitude 6.3 tremor in Herat province left thousands dead.
The latest disaster underscores the country’s deep vulnerability to natural calamities, compounded by fragile infrastructure, mountainous terrain, and limited resources for emergency response. Rescue teams continue to comb through rubble in remote districts, with officials warning that the final death toll could be far higher.
