Kabul/London, Monday 1st September 2025 -

A powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late on 31st August, causing widespread devastation across the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman. More than 800 people are estimated to have list their lives, with over 2,800 injured. Thousands of families have lost their homes and livelihoods and are now in urgent need of humanitarian relief.

Immediate needs in affected communities include:

• Temporary shelter and tents
• Clean drinking water and sanitation kits
• Food supplies and cooking utensils
• Blankets and heating materials
• Tools for recovery and search-and-rescue support

As Afghanaid’s Managing Director, Charles Davy, highlights: 

The earthquake has left countless people in dire need of relief. Families already impacted by Afghanistan's ongoing humanitarian crisis have now also lost their loved ones, their homes, and their livelihoods. Emergency funding is needed to ensure they receive urgent assistance and targeted support to rebuild their homes and lives."

Kunar, the province most severely affected, remains difficult to access. Landslides and falling rocks have blocked many of the roads leading into villages such as Nurgal, Chawkay, and the wider Mazar valley. Ambulance vehicles are being prioritised for entry, while some communities can only be reached by gravel roads that are now impassable. Despite these challenges, at least 60 helicopter flights have so far managed to deliver aid into the crisis zones and bring the injured to hospitals.

Afghanaid’s emergency response team is working to reach affected villages, deliver life-saving supplies, and carry out field assessments. We remain in close contact with our local operating partners to identify where help is needed most urgently. 

This disaster strikes at a time when 22.9 million Afghans already require humanitarian support, as they navigate the impacts of climate change, widespread poverty and food insecurity, and a worsening returnee crisis, as refugee families are forced back from Pakistan, Iran and European countries. Women and girls, already facing severe restrictions, are likely to be disproportionately affected, with deepening inequalities making it harder for women to access essential services and support. Afghanaid is committed to ensuring its response meets the unique needs of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable and marginalised.

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For further information or to set up an interview with a member of our team, please contact: [email protected]

Header image courtesy of the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

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Notes to editors:

About Afghanaid

Afghanaid is a British humanitarian and development organisation. Since 1983, our dedicated staff have worked with millions of families in some of the poorest and most remote communities in Afghanistan. We build basic services, improve livelihoods, strengthen the rights of women and children, help communities protect against natural disasters and adapt to climate change, and respond to humanitarian emergencies in pursuit of a peaceful and thriving Afghanistan.

In 2024, Afghanaid supported over 1,200,000 people with humanitarian and development assistance. For more information about our work, visit our website www.afghanaid.org.uk, or find us on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

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