The magnitude six quake has already resulted in over 800 fatalities and at least 2,000 injuries, but according to Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s top aid official in the country, the overall impact might affect “hundreds of thousands.”
Speaking from Kabul, Mr. Ratwatte noted that mud and wooden roof structures are common in the affected mountainous provinces. “When the walls collapse, the roof is what basically falls on individuals, kills them or suffocates them,” he said. The earthquake struck at night, while people were sleeping, raising the possibility that more might be trapped under debris.
Massive loss of homes, livestock
Hundreds of thousands might be impacted, in terms of houses destroyed, injuries, casualties, and loss of livestock and livelihoods, Mr. Ratwatte explained. Access was “very limited” in the first 24 hours due to landslides and rockfalls caused by the tremors, with some roads already blocked from recent heavy rain. “This has posed a huge challenge to us as we deploy right now,” Mr. Ratwatte said, highlighting the mobilization of 20 emergency assessment teams and 15 mobile teams to enhance humanitarian flights from Kabul to Jalalabad, the capital of the affected Nangarhar province.
The UN Humanitarian Air Service has arranged additional flights between Kabul and Jalalabad to scale up response efforts. Efforts are also underway to establish or repair mobile networks as there’s “zero connectivity” in some areas, posing another challenge. “It’s not easy to get to these areas and keep shuttling injured individuals,” he said.
Disease danger
Mr. Ratwatte emphasized the importance of protection work, including psychosocial support for those who lost family and loved ones. He also stressed the urgent need to dispose of bodies and dead livestock to prevent waterborne diseases, which can spread quickly.
The Afghan Red Crescent was one of the first responders in affected areas. Joy Singhal from the IFRC mentioned that more lives could have been saved if road access were easier. “Our staff and volunteers sometimes have to [walk] for about four to five hours to reach some of those remote villages,” he said, noting that the hospitals are overwhelmed.
People in remote quake-hit areas urgently need tents, tarps, and blankets for protection against the cool highland weather. They also require hot meals and food, according to Amy Martin, Head of OCHA in Afghanistan. Mobile health teams have been sent to some districts but are “going to be in short supply.”
Families in Eastern Afghanistan have been devastated by the earthquake that hit the region on 31 August.
Disaster, time after time
Afghanistan continuously faces “systemic humanitarian challenges,” says Mr. Ratwatte, with half its population—around 22.5 million people—requiring assistance. Food insecurity has worsened due to recent drought, and funding cuts to humanitarian programs led to the closure of “hundreds” of aid facilities.
“The earthquake comes at a time when vulnerable communities are super-exposed to additional stresses,” Mr. Ratwatte said. A significant challenge remains the return of 2.4 million Afghan refugees by 2025, with communities struggling to integrate them, according to UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch. “More than half of these are deportations,” he stated.
Deported regardless
The majority of returnees are heading to earthquake-affected areas. The end of the grace period for Afghan refugees in Pakistan is concerning, with UNHCR preparing for “significantly more returns.” “These people already with very little resources are now returned to a disaster zone,” Mr. Baloch said. “We are at breaking point in response to the multiple humanitarian shocks in the country,” Mr. Ratwatte insisted. The 2025 humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan is only 28% funded amid an emergency.
Life-saving supplies are being packed and shipped from the UNICEF Global Supply Hub in Copenhagen, Denmark, to support the emergency response to the Afghanistan earthquake.
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