Authorities announced on Tuesday that the death toll from the earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan has risen to at least 1400, with rescue operations still underway.
The quake, which registered a magnitude of 6.0 and was followed by at least five significant aftershocks, impacted remote areas in the mountainous provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar, and Laghman late Sunday night into early Monday morning.
Most casualties were reported in Kunar Province, according to Mohammed Hamad, spokesperson for the Disaster Management Authority, while neighboring Nangarhar Province recorded approximately ten fatalities.
He noted that the death toll, which also includes over 3,124 injured individuals, may increase further as search efforts continue in mountain villages that have been reduced to piles of rubble.
An earlier report indicated 812 deaths and 2,817 injuries as of Monday.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, head of the Disaster Management Authority in Kunar Province, the area hardest hit, confirmed that “operations continued throughout the night.”
“The priority is to assist the injured; afterward, we will distribute tents and hot meals to those who have been left homeless,” Ehsan added.
Afghanistan is no stranger to earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, located at the convergence of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
