Afghanistan quake death toll rises to 900 as search for survivors continues in mountainous region

Kabul: Rescue teams continued to scour Afghanistan's mountainous east for survivors on Tuesday as the death toll from a strong earthquake rose to 900 with 3,000 people injured, an official said.

“The injured are being evacuated, so these figures may change significantly,” Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority, told The Associated Press.

“The earthquake caused landslides in some areas, blocking roads, but they have been reopened, and the remaining roads will be reopened to allow access to areas that were difficult to reach.”

The 6.0 magnitude quake struck late Sunday night in several provinces, flattening villages and leaving people trapped under the rubble of homes constructed mostly of mud bricks and wood and unable to withstand the shock.

The majority of casualties were in Kunar province, where many people live in steep river valleys separated by high mountains. Helicopters are being used to evacuate the injured to hospital, and aid agencies said their teams were making journeys on foot to reach the most isolated areas because of the rough terrain and ruined roads.

The Taliban government has appealed for international help.

The UK has pledged 1 million pounds (USD 1.3 million) in emergency funding to be split between humanitarian agencies rather than the Taliban government, which the UK does not recognise.

Other governments, including China, have offered disaster relief assistance.

It is the third major earthquake since the Taliban seized power in 2021, and the latest crisis to beset Afghanistan, which is reeling from deep cuts to aid funding, a weak economy, and millions of people forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan.

Mark Calder, advocacy director at the World Vision Afghanistan aid agency, warned of more than 250,000 people “swelling the ranks” of those needing help to access basic needs and services if resources were not made available.

“This will mean more people living without proper shelter, access to nutritious food to feed their families, clean water, and by extension malnutrition and disease in a context where the healthcare system simply can't stretch,” said Calder.