RESCUE teams are struggling to reach remote mountain communities in Afghanistan after two earthquakes less than two days apart destroyed thousands of buildings and killed at least 1400 people.
The first six-magnitude quake struck on Sunday night, and the second powerful aftershock occurred on Tuesday, in south-eastern Afghanistan. Both quakes were shallow, meaning that they caused more intense shaking and greater damage to buildings. Mountain roads have been blocked as a result; rescuers are struggling both to bring in humanitarian aid for those who have survived, and equipment to clear the rubble to find any who may still be alive.
The Taliban has called for international aid to help with rescue efforts. The death toll is certain to rise, said the Red Crescent Society, which was one of the first responders to get to the area.
The Tearfund director in Afghanistan, Solomon Cornelius, said: “Tearfund’s partners are navigating the difficult mountainous terrain to be able to reach communities cut off by landslides. Ahmad was sleeping outside when the earthquake struck. He saw the roof of his house suddenly fall in on his two daughters sleeping inside.
“Alongside the practical needs for emergency shelter and food, there is also a need for compassion and support for people like Ahmad who have lost family and friends in this deadly earthquake.”
Save the Children said that one of their aid teams “had to walk for 20 kilometres [12 miles] to reach villages cut off by rock falls, carrying medical equipment on their backs with the help of community members”.
The World Health Organization warned that the number of casualties from the earthquake was expected to rise, “as many remain trapped in destroyed buildings”.
Many of those affected are thought to be deportees from India and Pakistan. This year alone, 2.4 million Afghan refugees have returned, and the majority of them to the areas hit by the quake (News, 18 July).
“We are at breaking point in terms of response to the multiple humanitarian shocks in the country,” the UN’s aid official in the country, Indrika Ratwatte, said.
The UN’s $2.4 billion humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan for 2025 is only 28-per-cent funded, “and here we have an emergency on top of the crisis situation”, he added.
Pope Leo sent a message of support, entrusting “all affected by this disaster to the providence of the Almighty” and expressing “his heartfelt solidarity in particular with those who mourn the loss of loved ones and with the emergency personnel and civil authorities involved in rescue and recovery efforts”.
In his telegram, the Pope prayed for “divine blessings of consolation and strength” on the entire Afghan people.
The UK has pledged £1 million in aid, with the money to be funnelled through the International Red Cross and a UN fund, to ensure that it does not go directly to the Taliban. The US has extended a message of sympathy but not yet promised any aid.
Afghanistan has suffered huge cuts in humanitarian aid in the past year, particularly from the United States under President Trump. Russia is the only UN member state to have granted diplomatic recognition to the Taliban regime.
Three major earthquakes have struck Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 (News, 1 July 2022). Afghanistan is one of the lowest-income populations in the world and there are fears that, among the scant humanitarian resources, women and girls are likely to suffer most under the conservative Islamist regime.
