Late Sunday night on August 31, a devastating 6.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. Multiple aftershocks have occurred since then, including a 5.2 magnitude aftershock that happened Tuesday afternoon.
More than 1,400 people have been killed and thousands more were injured. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue efforts continue in remote mountain areas of Afghanistan. This earthquake was shallow which created major surface damage, including landslides and damaged roads, hindering rescue efforts. One of our contacts said, “The damage is indeed quite large, and will probably only be fully seen in a few days due to the difficult access to some of these areas.”
Afghanistan is a country already suffering from a severe humanitarian crisis. Over 3 million people are already displaced inside Afghanistan because of the ongoing unrest and economic crisis.
We are researching ways to reach out to the survivors of this devastating earthquake. Please pray for the people of Afghanistan as they face another crisis in an already difficult life.
Sources: WorldData.info, UNHCR
