Jalalabad, 2 Sep

The death toll from a major earthquake in eastern Afghanistan passed 1,400 on Tuesday, with more than 3,000 people injured, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban government spokesman, said on social platform X.

Rescuers are scrambling in a “race against time” to reach the mountainous and remote area devastated by Sunday's powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake, a UN official said, warning of an exponential rise in the number of casualties.

The quake struck in several provinces, causing extensive damage. It flattened villages and trapped people under the rubble of homes that were constructed mostly of mud bricks and wood and were unable to withstand the shock. Rough terrain is hampering rescue and relief efforts.

“We cannot afford to forget the people of Afghanistan who are facing multiple crises, multiple shocks, and the resilience of the communities has been saturated,” said Indrika Ratwatte, the UN's resident coordinator for Afghanistan.

He urged the international community to step forward. “These are life and death decisions while we race against time to reach people.”

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.

Ratwatte said that when the walls of wooden and mud homes collapse, the roof falls on to the occupants, causing injury or death. While the area was low-density, the earthquake struck when everybody was asleep.

“If you were to model it based on what has happened before, clearly there's no question that the casualty rate is going to be rather exponential,” he said.

The Taliban government, which is only recognised by Russia, has appealed for assistance from foreign governments and the humanitarian sector.

However, help for Afghanistan is in short supply due to competing global crises and reduced aid budgets in donor countries.

There is also opposition toward the Taliban government's restrictive policies on Afghan girls and women, including a ban on them working for nongovernmental organisations. Earlier this year, the US gutted aid money to Afghanistan, partly due to concerns that money was going to the Taliban government.

Kate Carey, who is the deputy head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan, said more than 420 health facilities had closed or were suspended due to the “massive reduction” in funding, with 80 of them in the eastern region, the heart of Sunday's quake.

“The consequence is that the remaining facilities are overwhelmed, have insufficient supplies and personnel, and are not as close to the affected populations as the more local facilities at a time when providing emergency trauma care is needed in the first 24 to 72 hours of the earthquake response,” said Carey.