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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Taliban calls for foreign help after deadly Afghanistan earthquake.
Here’s what we know
By Lex Harvey, Masoud Popalzai, Billy Stockwell, Helen Regan, Char
Reck, and Sana Noor Haq, CNN
Updated:
8:42 AM EDT, Thu September 4, 2025
Source: CNN
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have called for international help after
a huge earthquake killed hundreds of people and leveled entire
villages, piling further misery on the war-ravaged country that was
already grappling with food shortages and cuts to foreign aid.
At least 2,205 were killed and 3,640 others injured after the
6.0-magnitude quake struck towns and villages close to the Pakistan
border on Sunday, causing strong aftershocks in Kabul, according to an
update from Taliban government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat on
Thursday. The devastating earthquake also destroyed more than 5,400
homes, according to a government update earlier this week.
Heavy rain, landslides and damaged roads have made it difficult for
relief teams to access the remote mountainous areas hit hardest by the
quake. On Tuesday evening, a second, 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck
northeast of Jalalabad, in Nangarhar province, according to the United
States Geological Survey (USGS).
The quake on Tuesday had a depth of about 10 kilometers (6.21 miles),
the USGS said, with shallow earthquakes tending to be more destructive.
Residents in the capital Kabul – west of the epicenter – reportedly
felt tremors. It is unclear if the new tremor caused casualties or
damage.
Meanwhile, recent US aid cuts have crunched relief efforts in the
country, which has been contending with shrinking global aid since the
Taliban seized control in 2021, imposing harsh rules and punishments on
the nation’s 43 million people.
Here’s what we know about the earthquake and the rescue operation.
Where did the quake hit?
The initial earthquake on Sunday hit just before midnight 27 kilometers
(16.77 miles) north-east of Jalalabad, a bustling city of about 200,000
people in Nangarhar province near the border with Pakistan, in a
mountainous area known for its seismic activity, USGS said.
The quake was relatively shallow with a depth of about 8 kilometers
(4.97 miles), according to the USGS.
The earthquake devastated neighboring Kunar province, razing three
villages, Reuters reported, citing local authorities. Damage and
injuries were also reported in Laghman, Nuristan and Panjshir
provinces, according to the Taliban government and humanitarian
workers.
The earthquake was also felt in several cities in neighboring Pakistan,
the Pakistan Meteorological Department said in a statement.
The region was hit by at least five aftershocks, the strongest
measuring 5.2-magnitude in the hours after the initial quake, according
to USGS.
This is the third major quake to hit since 2021 in Afghanistan, which
faces a litany of man-made and natural disasters, including poverty,
conflict, drought, and the forced return of millions of refugees by
neighbors Pakistan and Iran.
Powerful earthquakes in 2022 and 2023 killed more than 3,000 people in
Afghanistan’s Paktika and Herat provinces, by some estimates.
How many people were affected?
Nearly half a million people likely felt strong to very strong shaking,
which can result in considerable damage to poorly built structures,
according to the USGS.
Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Disaster
Management Authority, said the number of dead and injured is likely to
rise.
“The injured are being evacuated, so these figures may change
significantly,” he told the AP.
Photos from the aftermath showed rows of brick houses swept under muddy
debris, as residents clambered over huge piles of fallen concrete.
Eyewitnesses recalled fumbling for loved ones stuck under collapsed
homes, as they waited hours for emergency workers to reach the
worst-affected regions, according to the AP.
“I was half-buried and unable to get out,” Sadiqullah, a resident
of Nurgal, in Kunar province, told AP. His wife and two sons were
killed, he added.
Ahmad Zameer, 41, a resident of Kabul, more than 100 miles from the
epicenter, told CNN the earthquake jolted his neighborhood. He added
that everyone from the nearby apartment buildings rushed into the
street in fear of being trapped inside.
Videos obtained by CNN show men digging with shovels to search for
survivors under the rubble in Kunar province. Others showed chaotic
scenes as officials worked to stretcher the wounded onto helicopters to
be airlifted to hospital.
Global funding cuts hamper rescue efforts
The war-ravaged nation is in the throes of a humanitarian crisis that
has only worsened since the Taliban seized power in 2021 following a
chaotic United States withdrawal.
Many international aid groups, wary of collaborating with a repressive
regime known for its persecution of , have since pulled out of the
country.
Earlier this year, the White House halted more than $1.7 billion worth
of American aid contracts supporting dozens of programs in Afghanistan.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany swiftly followed suit.
Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan shrank to $767 million in 2025, down
from $3.8 billion in 2022, according to Reuters.
Thamindri De Silva, National Director of World Vision Afghanistan, said
the sheer number of challenges facing the country has made it difficult
for humanitarian organizations to support Afghans.
“This is not the first shock that we’ve faced this year. We’re
undergoing a drought. We’re supporting the returnee response. We’re
still working with the earthquake-affected people in Herat. There’s a
huge malnutrition crisis in the country,” De Silva told CNN’s Lynda
Kinkade.
“So it’s not just the funding shortfalls, it’s the compounding of
shock after shock in the country, which is stretching already very thin
resources.”
Body bags are one of the greatest needs in terms of supplies, she said,
as well as basic necessities, such as clothing, hygiene products, and
cooking equipment.
Taliban call for international assistance
The Taliban have appealed to the world for more aid to support relief
efforts, but so far, few countries have stepped up.
“We need it because here lots of people lost their lives and
houses,” health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman told Reuters.
The United Arab Emirates has dispatched food, medical supplies and
tents to quake-stricken regions in Afghanistan – as well as a search
and rescue team, state-run Emirate News Agency, WAM, reported .
The UK on Tuesday announced £1 million ($1.3 million) in new emergency
funding to support families affected by the earthquake, to be split
between the UN Population Fund and the International Red Cross.
“The UK remains grateful to the aid workers on the ground, who help
us to provide support to Afghanistan’s most vulnerable people,”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy
European leaders donated $1.16 million (€1 million) of humanitarian
emergency funding, as well as tents, clothes, medical supplies and
other aid stocks to the region, the European Commission said .
A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said it was ready to
provide disaster relief assistance “according to Afghanistan’s
needs and within its capacity,” Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, India delivered 1,000 family tents to Kabul and 15 metric
tons of food aid to Kunar, with more relief to come, Foreign Minister
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said according to Reuters.
The US State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
extended “heartfelt condolences to the Afghan people” in a , but
there was no immediate word of aid from the US.
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