A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, close to the epicentre of a powerful tremor that devastated the region just two days earlier, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The latest quake was centred about 34 kilometres (21 miles) northeast of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province. It follows Sunday night’s 6.0-magnitude quake that flattened villages, leaving more than 1,400 people dead and nearly 2,500 injured, according to a Taliban government spokesperson.
In Nangarhar alone, AFP reported that another dozen people were killed and hundreds more wounded. The back-to-back quakes have destroyed thousands of homes, toppled buildings, and triggered urgent rescue and relief efforts.
Rescue teams, along with villagers, are searching through rubble with their bare hands, while authorities struggle to reach remote mountainous areas. More than 5,400 houses were destroyed in neighbouring Kunar province, government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said on X, adding that temporary shelters are being set up as international aid begins to arrive.
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, Indrika Ratwatte, warned that “hundreds of thousands” could be affected. The European Union has announced it will send 130 tonnes of emergency supplies worth $1.2 million to assist survivors.
Afghanistan’s disaster response capacity remains extremely limited after international aid dwindled following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. The country, among the poorest in the world, is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes as many residents live in fragile mud-brick houses.
The USGS said Sunday’s tremor struck just eight kilometres below the surface, making it shallow and highly destructive. Many of those worst affected are Afghans recently deported from Iran and Pakistan, who had resettled in vulnerable villages near the Torkham border crossing.
