A powerful earthquake struck western Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least 800 people and injuring over 2,800, according to the Taliban government. The 6.3-magnitude quake, centered in the Zenda Jan district of herat province, has left thousands homeless and overwhelmed local resources.
“So far, no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work,” a spokesperson of Afghanistan’s foreign office said on Monday. The Taliban has appealed for international assistance as rescue teams scramble to reach remote villages impacted by the disaster.
The earthquake is the deadliest to hit Afghanistan as a 6.1-magnitude quake killed 1,000 people in the eastern region in 2022, marking the first major natural disaster faced by the Taliban government. Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes due to its location in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide.
While manny nations have yet to formally offer aid, China’s foreign ministry stated it was ready to provide disaster relief assistance “according to Afghanistan’s needs and within its capacity.” India has already dispatched aid, delivering 1,000 family tents to Kabul and moving 15 tonnes of food material to Kunar, with further relief supplies planned to arrive from India starting Tuesday.
The U.S. State Department’s bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs posted condolences on X for the loss of life, but had not announced any assistance as of Monday. Afghanistan’s ability to respond to disasters has been hampered by reduced international funding since January 2018, when the Trump administration began cutting aid to USAID and other programs.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said its mission in Afghanistan was preparing to help those in devastated areas. Pope Leo also sent condolences for the dead.
