Residents from surrounding towns and villages try to reach the quake-hit region to assist survivors after Sunday night’s powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck several provinces, in the Nurgol district, Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Nava Jamshidi)
Residents from surrounding towns and villages climb as they try to reach the quake-hit region to assist survivors after Sunday night’s powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck several provinces, in the Nurgol district, Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Nava Jamshidi)
Afghanistan quake destroyed 5,230 homes in 49 villages - but the UN hasn’t gotten to 362 others
UNITED NATIONS (AP) 鈥 An initial United Nations assessment of the impact of Afghanistan鈥檚 recent deadly earthquake found 5,230 homes destroyed and 672 damaged in 49 villages 鈥 but the U.N. hasn鈥檛 been able to get to the vast majority of the remote villages.
Residents from surrounding towns and villages try to reach the quake-hit region to assist survivors after Sunday night’s powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck several provinces, in the Nurgol district, Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Nava Jamshidi)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) 鈥 An initial United Nations assessment of the impact of Afghanistan鈥檚 recent deadly earthquake found 5,230 homes destroyed and 672 damaged in 49 villages 鈥 but the U.N. hasn鈥檛 been able to get to the vast majority of the remote villages.
Shannon O鈥橦ara, the coordination chief for the U.N. humanitarian office in Afghanistan, said Monday that damaged roads in the country鈥檚 rugged and mountainous east where the 6.0 magnitude quake struck have made it extremely difficult to assess the impact in the 441 affected villages. A series of aftershocks ranging from 5.2 to 5.6 in magnitude added to the difficulties, she said.
The earthquake struck on Aug. 31, , and that figure could rise as more bodies are recovered. The United Nations estimates the quake has affected up to 500,000 people, more than half of them children and some of them from neighboring Pakistan and Iran.
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As an example of the difficulties the U.N. team has faced, O鈥橦ara said it took her more than 6 1/2 hours to get from Jalalabad, the largest city near the quake area, to the worst-hit area roughly 100 kilometers away on the only road 鈥 a narrow, single-lane track carved into the mountainside blocked in places by large rocks from landslides.
Many vehicles, including trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, were trying to get up and down the valley to help, she said.
鈥淎s we drove towards the epicenter, we saw families walking in the opposite direction 鈥 displaced, carrying what little they could. Many were still wearing the same clothes from the night of the earthquake,鈥 O鈥橦ara said. 鈥淢others and fathers were carrying their children, some with fresh bandages covering their injuries.鈥
She said the devastation got worse as the U.N. team got closer to the epicenter, with entire villages destroyed and the overpowering smell of dead animals. Some families who have were living in crowded tents, while many others were sleeping under the open skies, exposed to rain and cold.
鈥淭here was no clean drinking water and no sanitation, with cholera endemic in the region, and initial assessments indicating that 92% of these communities are practicing open defecation,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he potential for a cholera outbreak is alarming. 鈥
O鈥橦ara, who has been in the quake-affected region for five days, reported the initial assessment at a video press conference with U.N. journalists.
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She said the needs are overwhelming 鈥 clean water, food, tents, latrines and warm clothing as the region nears the start of winter snows at the end of October.
In visits to three camps for displaced people on Monday, O鈥橦ara said women in particular emphasized their need for clean water and adequate clothing for themselves and for their children.
She said time is of the essence. 鈥淎ny day, rainfall could cause flash floods in the valleys鈥 where camps for the displaced have been set up and 鈥漚dditional aftershocks could cause more severe landslides, cutting off access to communities still living near the epicenter,” O’Hara said.
鈥淎nd snow will cut off access to these mountain valleys,鈥 she said. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 act now, these communities may not survive the coming winter.鈥
The United Nations will be issuing an emergency appeal Tuesday for desperately needed funding to help quake survivors, O鈥橦ara said.
She said Afghanistan鈥檚 ruling took the lead in search and rescue operations and there has been no major obstruction to humanitarian operations.
As for women and girls whose activities are drastically curtailed by the Taliban, O’Hara said she had not received any reports of women being left behind by male-only rescue teams, and the U.N. is ensuring that women are part of health teams and aid distribution operations.
