At least 1,000 people were killed and 1,500 were injured in Afghanistan’s earthquake.

A powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has killed at least 1,000 people and injured 1,500, according to a Taliban official.

The Taliban appealed for international assistance in the rescue effort as images showed landslides and ruined mud-built homes in the Paktika province.

The earthquake struck shortly after 01:30 (21:00 GMT Tuesday) while people were sleeping.

The magnitude 6.1 event, which occurred at a depth of 51 kilometers, destroyed hundreds of houses (32 miles).

It is the deadliest earthquake to hit Afghanistan in two decades, posing a significant challenge to the Taliban, the Islamist movement that reclaimed power last year after the Western-backed government fell apart.

The earthquake struck about 44 kilometers from Khost, with tremors felt as far away as Pakistan and India. Witnesses reported feeling the quake in both Kabul, Afghanistan, and Islamabad, Pakistan.

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According to Sam Mort of Unicef’s Kabul unit, Taliban officials have asked the UN to “assist them in assessing the needs and responding to those affected.”

Nigel Casey, the UK’s special representative in Afghanistan, stated that the UK was in contact with the UN and was “ready to contribute to the international response.”

Earthquakes frequently cause significant damage in Afghanistan, where many rural dwellings are unstable or poorly constructed.

Locals described horrific scenes of death and destruction in the aftermath of the late-night earthquake to Reuters.

“The kids and I screamed,” Fatima said. “One of our rooms was completely destroyed. Our neighbors screamed, and we could see into everyone’s rooms.”

“It destroyed our neighbors’ houses,” Faisal explained. “There were many dead and injured when we arrived. They admitted us to the hospital. I also saw a lot of dead bodies.”

“You hear people mourning the deaths of their loved ones on every street,” a journalist in Paktika province told the BBC.

Alem Wafa, a local farmer, cried as he told the BBC that official rescue teams had yet to reach the remote village of Gyan, which was one of the hardest hit.

“There are no official aid workers here, but people from neighboring cities and villages have come here to help,” he explained. “When I arrived this morning, I discovered 40 dead bodies.”

He claimed that the majority of those killed were “very young children.” The local hospital simply did not have the capacity to handle such a disaster, according to the farmer.

‘You can hear mourning on every street.’
Helicopters have been transporting victims to hospitals in remote areas.

Even before the Taliban took over, Afghanistan’s emergency services were overburdened by natural disasters, with few planes and helicopters available to rescuers.

A doctor in Paktika told the BBC that medical workers were among the victims.

“We didn’t have enough people and facilities before the earthquake, and now the earthquake has destroyed what little we did have,” they explained. “I’m not sure how many of our coworkers are still alive.”

Communication is difficult following the quake due to damage to mobile phone towers, and the death toll could rise even further, according to another local journalist in the area who spoke to the BBC.

“Many people are unaware of their relatives’ well-being because their phones are not working,” he explained. “My brother and his family died, and I only found out about it after many hours. A large number of villages have been destroyed.”

According to BBC Urdu, there were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage in Pakistan.

Despite efforts by aid agencies to reinforce some buildings over the years, decades of conflict have made it difficult for the impoverished country to improve its protections against earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes due to its location in a tectonically active region, which includes the Chaman fault, the Hari Rud fault, the Central Badakhshan fault, and the Darvaz fault.

More than 7,000 people have died in earthquakes in the country over the last decade, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Earthquakes kill an estimated 560 people each year.

In January, two earthquakes in the country’s west killed more than 20 people and destroyed hundreds of homes.