The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Afghanistan’s Kunar province on Sunday night with a magnitude of 6 has risen to over 812 fatalities and more than 2700 injured, with at least five aftershocks felt hundreds of kilometers away.

Local officials and the US Geological Survey reported that the earthquake’s epicenter was at a relatively shallow depth of eight kilometers, located 27 kilometers east of Jalalabad city in neighboring Nangarhar province, which has recorded the highest number of casualties so far.

At Jalalabad airport, hundreds of security personnel were loading white shrouds onto helicopters. The Ministry of Defense said it conducted 40 airlifts to deliver aid and evacuate dozens of dead and injured.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated in a Kabul press conference that Kunar province alone recorded 800 deaths and 2500 injuries, in addition to 12 deaths and 255 injuries in Nangarhar province.

Afghan officials warned that the toll could rise as search and rescue continue in rugged and remote areas, confirming the deployment of helicopters for rescue operations. Local official Ejaz Abdul Haq Yad said the three large villages in Nurgal district of Kunar were completely destroyed and people remain outdoors fearing aftershocks.

The earthquake shook buildings for seconds from Kabul to Islamabad, Pakistan, about 370 kilometers away. The UN mission in Afghanistan expressed deep sorrow over the deadly earthquake and confirmed that teams are on the ground providing urgent assistance. UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed full solidarity with the Afghan people.

Afghanistan frequently experiences earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range near the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. Floods also recently hit Nangarhar province, killing five people and destroying crops and property.

In October 2023, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Herat province in western Afghanistan, killing over 1500 people and damaging or destroying more than 63,000 homes, according to UN estimates. It was the strongest earthquake in over 25 years, destroying nearly 300 schools and an educational center.

Afghanistan faces a severe humanitarian crisis after four decades of conflict. According to the World Bank, about half the population lives in poverty. Since the Taliban’s return to power in summer 2021 following the US withdrawal, international aid to Kabul has sharply declined, undermining Afghanistan’s limited capacity to respond to disasters.

In 2015, over 380 people were killed in Pakistan and Afghanistan when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck both countries, with most deaths in Pakistan. During that disaster, 12 Afghan girls were crushed to death in a stampede while trying to escape their shaking school building.