Kabul/Mazar Dara, September 5 (HS): Catastrophe deepens in southeastern Afghanistan as another powerful earthquake struck on Thursday, registering 6.2 magnitude at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometers, according to the German Research Center for Geosciences.

This comes only days after a devastating 6.0 magnitude quake on Sunday and a 5.5 magnitude aftershock on Tuesday, which leveled entire villages across Kunar and Nangarhar provinces.

Human Cost Escalates

-Deaths confirmed: More than 2,205 people

-Injured: Over 3,640

-Destroyed homes: More than 6,700 reduced to rubble

Authorities and humanitarian groups warn that with hundreds still trapped under debris, the death toll is likely to climb even higher.

Life Amid the Ruins

Survivors continue to dig through collapsed mud-brick homes with bare hands, desperately searching for loved ones. Makeshift stretchers carry bodies through devastated streets while families spend nights under the open sky, fearful of aftershocks.

In Kunar province, two out of every three households have lost a member to death or injury, according to Islamic Relief Worldwide. In some villages, 98% of buildings stand damaged or destroyed.

Aid Crisis Intensifies

The humanitarian response is straining under severe resource gaps:

-World Health Organization (WHO) has flagged a $3 million shortfall, hampering medical supplies and life-saving drugs.

-World Food Programme (WFP) warns it has stock and funding to support victims for only four more weeks.

-International Red Cross estimates over 84,000 people have been directly or indirectly impacted.

-The Norwegian Refugee Council has appealed for global donors to look beyond emergency relief and invest in Afghanistan’s long-term recovery.

The Road Ahead

With entire communities flattened, families grieving, and survivors in desperate need of food, shelter, and healthcare, Afghanistan faces its worst humanitarian challenge in recent memory. Aid groups caution that unless emergency supplies are scaled up rapidly, the crisis may spiral into a deeper tragedy.

This is a developing story.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar