Afghanistan Quake Survivors Rocked Again as Aftershocks Injure More People

As if the devastation wasn’t already unbearable, powerful aftershocks are now rattling eastern Afghanistan — deepening the trauma from Sunday’s deadly magnitude 6.0 earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people.

The US Geological Survey says at least five aftershocks have shaken the region this week, the strongest hitting 5.6 on Friday morning and felt as far away as Kabul and Islamabad. Afghanistan’s disaster authority says at least 10 more people were injured across eight provinces, including Kunar, Nangarhar and Laghman — areas already flattened over the weekend.

The original quake left more than 3,700 injured and leveled entire villages, where homes built of stone, wood and mud offered little protection. Now, thousands of survivors are too afraid to sleep indoors. In Kunar, families have fled to higher ground, pitching tents or sleeping in the open air near rivers.

“Everyone was afraid. We are still afraid and have not returned to our homes,” said 25-year-old Enamullah Safi in Nuristan, who spent the night huddled under a blanket with neighbors.

Collapsed houses, landslides and blocked roads are choking rescue and relief efforts. Aid groups say helicopters are often the only way in. The World Health Organization warns of a looming health crisis in overcrowded shelters with unsafe water and poor sanitation. It says at least $4 million in emergency funds are urgently needed to keep medical care going.

But aid is trickling in slowly. Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghanistan has been largely isolated, with international support shrinking. That isolation is now colliding with crisis: tens of thousands of Afghans deported from Pakistan and Iran are pouring back into a country already reeling from drought, poverty and war.

The Taliban government has appealed for global help. Some aid has arrived — the UN has released emergency funds, and the UK pledged £1 million — but relief groups say it’s nowhere near enough. Survivors in Kunar, where nearly all buildings were destroyed, say they’ve lost everything but the clothes on their backs.

Rescue teams continue to dig through rubble for bodies while survivors brace for more shaking. The ground hasn’t stopped trembling — and neither has the fear.

BBC, the Guardian, Al Jazeera, Reuters contributed to this report.