A very strong earthquake has shaken eastern Afghanistan. More than 800 people were killed and over 2,800 were injured, officials said. The disaster struck at midnight, leaving villages in ruins and families in deep grief. It is truly devastating to hear the news about the Afghanistan earthquake 2025.

Whole Villages Destroyed

The hardest-hit area was Kunar province, where more than 600 people died. In Nangarhar, at least 12 deaths were reported. Most of the houses were made of mud and collapsed within seconds.

Survivors say almost nothing is left. “Children and elders are under the rubble. The whole village is gone,” one man from Nurgal district told reporters. Another said: “We need doctors, ambulances, food, we need everything.”

Photos show men digging through rubble with their hands, while others carried the injured on wooden stretchers. Helicopters are moving some people to hospitals, but many villages are still cut off by landslides.

Taliban Calls for World Help

Health officials in Kabul have asked for international aid. “We need urgent help. Thousands of people lost their homes and families,” said ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the number of deaths could rise as rescue teams reach remote areas. The Afghan Red Crescent has sent doctors and aid workers, and the army has used helicopters to move the injured. But food, tents, and clean water are still in short supply.

A Country Already in Crisis

This disaster comes as Afghanistan faces many other problems. The country is already suffering from poverty, drought, and a lack of foreign aid. The United Nations says more than half of the population needs humanitarian help.

Funding has dropped sharply in recent years. In 2022, Afghanistan received nearly $4 billion in aid. This year, it is less than $800 million. Aid workers warn that people may not survive without urgent international support.

The UN and China have promised to help. India has already sent tents and food. The United States and other countries have shared condolences but have not yet announced aid.

Living in Fear

People in the quake-hit provinces say they are terrified. Ziaul Haq Mohammadi, a student from Jalalabad, said: “We spent the whole night outside. Nobody dared to sleep in their homes. Everyone fears another earthquake.”

Rescue workers say heavy rain has made the risk of landslides worse. “Many roads are blocked, and it is very hard to reach the injured,” said a UN official.

Afghanistan and Earthquakes

Afghanistan sits on a dangerous fault line and often suffers deadly quakes. In 2022, more than 1,000 people died in another earthquake in the east.

Now, families like Muhammad Aziz’s are mourning again. He lost ten relatives, including his five children. “There is death in every home,” he said. “We have lost everything.”

Appeals for Help

Afghanistan’s earthquake has once again exposed the country’s fragile situation. Aid groups say it is a “forgotten crisis,” with the United Nations estimating that more than half of Afghans now urgently need humanitarian support.

For now, officials in Kabul say no foreign government has stepped forward with direct rescue or relief aid.

China, however, later announced it was ready to help “according to Afghanistan’s needs and within its capacity.” India also confirmed it had delivered 1,000 family tents to Kabul and was sending 15 tonnes of food supplies to Kunar, with more aid expected in the coming days.

The United States offered condolences for the lives lost, but has not yet said if it will assist.

International funding for Afghanistan has been shrinking since the Taliban took over in 2021. Many donors scaled back, and earlier this year, the U.S. reduced support for humanitarian programs worldwide, including in Afghanistan.

Even so, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN is preparing to help those in the hardest-hit areas. Pope Leo also extended prayers and condolences to the victims.

Afghanistan has always been vulnerable to earthquakes. The country sits on a major fault line where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide. In 2022, a 6.1-magnitude quake in the east killed more than 1,000 people, marking the first major natural disaster the Taliban government faced.