Local residents in Afghanistan’s Kunar province say emergency relief has yet to reach some of the areas hardest hit by Sunday night’s powerful earthquake, leaving survivors without food or basic supplies two days after the disaster.
Residents of Nurgal and Mazar Dara districts told Amu they face severe shortages of food and warned that people could die if aid is not delivered soon.
“There is still no food here. People are desperately chasing a piece of bread and may die of hunger,” said a staff member at a local health center.
Sources warned that unless roads are cleared and supplies are delivered quickly, survivors could face a second humanitarian disaster brought on by hunger and lack of resources.
The 6.1-magnitude quake struck near Asadabad in Kunar province just after midnight Monday. Taliban authorities said more than 1,400 people were killed, over 3,100 injured, and at least 5,400 homes destroyed. Most of the casualties were reported in Kunar, particularly in hard-to-reach districts such as Nurgal and Sawkay. Smaller numbers of casualties were reported in Nangarhar, Laghman and Nuristan, while Panjshir sustained property damage.
Hospitals in Kunar remain overwhelmed, with survivors describing mass burials and children forced to sleep in the open after their homes were destroyed. Taliban officials said helicopters have been deployed to evacuate the wounded from remote areas, though many districts remain cut off.
