Afghanistan earthquake: Over 2,200 dead as aftershocks cause more casualties

By Simon D. Kist, 6 September, 2025

Six days after a devastating earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, the full extent of the damage is coming to light, particularly in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar. According to the United Nations, more than 2,200 people have been confirmed dead, at least 3,640 have been injured, and over 6,750 houses have been destroyed, which has affected at least 500,000 people, according to the European Union. As the situation unfolds, however, these figures are likely to rise, as unofficial figures communicated by the Taliban already indicate.

The August 31 earthquake is one of the deadliest in Afghanistan in recent years, a country known for its susceptibility to seismic events. Major aftershocks continue, including two 5.2-magnitude tremors recorded on Friday and a 5.6-magnitude tremor on Thursday. These aftershocks are causing further death and destruction, as well as complicating relief efforts in the affected areas.

The aftershocks have struck districts already impacted in Kunar Province, causing additional casualties, including among the aid and health workers deployed to support the humanitarian response, while shelters and roads have also been damaged.

The UN and its humanitarian partners are responding, but road blockages resulting from the latest quakes have delayed the deployment of teams and the delivery of aid by truck convoy to the affected areas.

On Friday, Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, issued a statement expressing concern over the crisis and its impact on ongoing humanitarian efforts.

"The Afghanistan earthquake has caused massive devastation. Hundreds of thousands of people in remote areas already scarred by decades of conflict and displacement have lost their homes and livelihoods," he said.

"Communities hit include those where people returning from Iran and Pakistan had only just begun to rebuild their lives. Explosive ordnance compounds the danger."

Fletcher went on to explain that funding cuts have already halted essential health and nutrition services for millions of people, grounded aircraft that serve as crucial lifelines for remote communities, and reduced the presence of aid agencies.

"This is the latest crisis to expose the cost of shrinking resources on vital humanitarian work," he said.

Despite these challenges, UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations are responding to the crisis. Emergency funds have been released to provide shelter, food, water, child protection, health care, and logistical support.

While the joint allocation of US$10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) will facilitate the delivery of life-saving assistance, additional funding is urgently needed to address the growing needs.

The de facto authorities have responded as well, and countries have generously provided relief supplies and critical initial funding.

However, Fletcher emphasized that this is not enough.

“Failing to rally resources now will mean deeper suffering and more lives lost, with winter fast approaching. Donors have stepped up for the people of Afghanistan before – we need them to do so again,” he said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has sent $4.5 million worth of emergency relief supplies to Kunar and Jalalabad. The supplies include family tents, thermal blankets, jerry cans, gas cookers, solar lamps, and tarpaulins, and will initially assist 5,600 households.

However, the UNHCR's stock in Afghanistan is currently low due to providing ongoing assistance to returning Afghan refugees. Pending the results of an interagency assessment, the UNHCR is evaluating the availability of items in its regional emergency stockpiles, including those in Termez, Uzbekistan, to address additional needs.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has set up an aid hub in Mara Dara, Nurgal District, to support and connect relief agencies. Additionally, the European Union has launched a new Humanitarian Air Bridge (HAB) from Europe and Dubai to transport cargo to Kabul, the capital.

Afghanistan has experienced prolonged conflict and frequent natural disasters, including flooding, drought, and earthquakes, in recent years. In October 2023, a series of powerful earthquakes in western Afghanistan killed more than 1,500 people.

This latest disaster comes at a time when Afghans are already struggling to cope with a widespread drought and massive global cuts to humanitarian aid, which have resulted in the closure of essential services such as health facilities and nutrition centers.

Currently, one-fifth of Afghans continue to suffer from hunger. According to the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC)'s most recent food security analysis, an estimated 9.52 million people are classified in crisis levels or worse (Phase 3 or above) between May and October 2025.

Around 3.5 million children under the age of five are suffering from or are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition and require urgent assistance. This includes an estimated 867,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and 2,593,000 cases of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). Additionally, it is estimated that 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women suffer from acute malnutrition.

Reduced funding has forced the World Food Programme to drastically reduce its assistance, leaving millions of hungry people without support as winter approaches.

The South Asian country is currently facing a severe, drought-related crisis that is disrupting agricultural and pastoral livelihoods in half of its provinces. The north, northwestern, and northeastern regions are among the hardest hit, and the worsening conditions are spreading.

Afghanistan is one of the ten countries most impacted by climate change worldwide. Droughts, floods, increased temperatures, and extreme heat affect people in rural areas by reducing their livelihoods and threaten people in urban areas as well.

Moreover, the massive influx of Afghan returnees forced to leave Iran and Pakistan has overwhelmed basic services in the country — over 2.5 million have returned since the beginning of the year.

With millions of Afghans forced to return from neighboring countries and the global humanitarian funding crisis taking a heavy toll on the country, the prospect of an even deeper humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is looming large.

Even before the influx of returnees, nearly half of Afghanistan's population — 22.9 million people, including 12.3 million children — required humanitarian assistance. Millions of Afghans continue to struggle to survive amid one of the world's largest and most neglected humanitarian crises.

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