Just before midnight on August 31, a powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 1,400 people in Kunar province, which is north of the city, and injuring more than 3,000. These numbers are expected to rise as search-and-rescue efforts continue. The quake was a shallow one, originating about 8 kilometres (5 miles) beneath the surface, meaning that it was especially destructive.
Damage is spread across four provinces—Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar and Nuristan—and has affected tens of thousands of people in remote villages where access has been blocked by landslides. According to the United Nations, immediate needs include emergency shelter, non-food items such as blankets and cooking sets, critical medical supplies, clean water and food.
International Medical Corps, whose humanitarian work in Afghanistan stretches back to our founding in 1984, has worked in Kunar for the last 22 years and has activities in Nangarhar and Nuristan. We are distributing pre‑positioned winterisation kits to the affected areas in eastern Afghanistan, which currently have significant humanitarian needs, given that organisations are responding simultaneously to an influx of returnees of refugees from Pakistan, problems in flood‑affected communities and now additional needs in earthquake‑impacted districts. We also are exploring the possibility of deploying teams that would provide emergency health, nutrition, protection, mental health and psychosocial support, and water, sanitation and hygiene services to the affected areas, in coordination with the relevant authorities and humanitarian bodies.
Support is urgently needed to expand our response and ensure access to essential services for affected families. This is a rapidly evolving situation, so please check this page to see our latest situation report and other updates.