Afghanistan earthquake death toll tops 2,200 – DW – 09/04/2025

https:p.dw.comp4zznxRough terrain and funding cuts are hindering rescue and relief effortsImage: AFPAdvertisementRescuers are battling to reach survivors after an earthquake in Afghanistan left over 2,200 dead. The vast majority of the dead and nearly 4,000 injured were in mountainous Kunar province near the border with Pakistan, Taliban government deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said Thursday. "Tents have been set up for people, and the delivery of first aid and emergency supplies is ongoing," he added. Sunday's magnitude-6.0 earthquake, one of the deadliest in Afghanistan in decades, was followed by a magnitude-5.2 tremor Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Late on Thursday, another fairly large quake hit the same isolated region near the border to Pakistan and the eastern city of Jalalabad, with the USGS putting it at magnitude 5.6 intially. Aid agencies urging more support Rescue operations have been complicated by rockfalls and landslides triggered by repeated aftershocks, which have blocked roads and made land travel difficult. "Many survivors are still believed to be trapped beneath collapsed homes in remote villages, and the window for finding them alive is rapidly closing," the World Health Organization said in a statement late Wednesday. Humanitarian needs are "vast and growing rapidly," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. *Reporting by Dw.*