Afghanistan earthquake death toll rises, Taliban officials say nearly 1,000 people injured

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck northern Afghanistan early Monday rose to 27 on Tuesday, with another 1,000 people confirmed to have been injured by the tremor, according to national health officials.

The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.3 earthquake was centered near Kholm in the northern province of Samangan, but Afghanistan’s Taliban government has reported damage and casualties in at least five other provinces.

Videos posted online show the earthquake lasted about 20 seconds. It was so powerful that it was felt in the capital, Kabul, and neighboring countries, causing panic among families early on Monday morning.

Sharafat Zaman, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, said 27 people died, most of them in Samangan and neighboring Balkh provinces. Deaths were also confirmed in the provinces of Baghlan, Kunduz, Sar-e-Pul and Jawzjan, with a total of 953 confirmed injuries.

Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority has reported that more than 500 homes were partially or fully damaged by the earthquake, leaving families at immediate risk of displacement and in urgent need as temperatures drop with the arrival of winter.

In Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh, the earthquake caused significant damage to the famous 15th-century Blue Mosque, according to regional government spokesman Haji Zahid, who shared a video of the damage on his social media account.

Humanitarian aid organizations, many of them reeling from recent Funding cuts by the US and other governments, have deployed teams to help facilitate the provision of emergency medical care and other essential items to those affected.

“Afghanistan is facing repeated disasters: earthquakes, floods and droughts, all worsened by the climate crisis. At the same time, the country is experiencing a severe food crisis driven by drought, economic collapse and the withdrawal of vital funds,” ActionAid Afghanistan director Srikanta Mirsa said in a statement. “One in five Afghans faces acute hunger, and millions more suffer from severe malnutrition.”

In the past two years, Afghanistan has been hit by multiple deadly earthquakes, including a Powerful earthquake that hit the east of the country in late August, killing 2,200 people and leaving thousands of families without shelter, clean water and medical care, according to the United Nations and Afghan authorities.

The UN said it would need $140 million in emergency funds to help families affected by that earthquake.

“In this time of deep need, the world cannot turn its back. Every cut to international aid further weakens the resilience and recovery of millions of Afghans already living in crisis,” Mirsa said.