Up to 3 000 deaths reported after M6.0 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan
A shallow M6.0 earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on August 31, 2025, left more than 2 200 people dead and nearly 7 000 homes destroyed, according to the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority. The World Health Organization reported nearly 3 000 deaths and 4 000 injuries.
Damage caused by M6.0 earthquake in Hindu Kush, Afghanistan on August 31, 2025. Credit: TOLO News
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 struck the Hindu Kush region, eastern Afghanistan, at 19:17 UTC (23:47 LT) on August 31, at a depth of 8 km (5 miles).
According to the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), at least 2 205 people were killed, 3 640 injured, and 6 782 houses destroyed as of September 4. The worst-affected areas include Nurgal and Chawkay districts in Kunar Province, Dara-e-Nur in Nangarhar Province, and several districts in Laghman Province.
While a Taliban spokesperson on September 5 said that 2 217 people were killed, on September 6, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported nearly 3 000 deaths and about 4 000 injuries. The USGS estimated that between 1 000 and 10 000 fatalities were possible, with nearly 890 000 people exposed to very strong to violent shaking.
Latest reports indicate that up to 65% of buildings in parts of Kunar Province collapsed, with 98% damaged. Most affected homes were built of mud and stone on steep valley slopes, which amplified shaking.
In Nurgal District, entire villages such as Wadir, Shomash, Masud, and Areet were destroyed, with some areas experiencing casualty rates as high as 90%. At least 16 health centers and 53 schools were destroyed, with another 253 schools damaged, affecting up to 157 074 students.
Humanitarian organizations reported acute displacement and protection concerns. At least 392 families relocated to Shalt area, where conditions remain unsafe, with limited access to food, water, shelter, and sanitation.
With winter approaching, thousands of families remain without safe shelter, heightening the risk of additional humanitarian consequences.
International Organization for Migration (IOM), World Food Programme (WFP), and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) field missions confirmed extensive destruction of irrigation systems, rising community tensions, and heightened flood risk. Meanwhile, WFP’s Mobile Storage Units have been deployed to scale up the response.
A M5.2 aftershock on September 2 triggered additional landslides, blocking roads and slowing rescue operations, while a series of five aftershocks on September 4 and 5, the largest M5.6, caused two more fatalities, 51 injuries, and the destruction of 330 additional homes across Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces.
Rockslides triggered by aftershocks and heavy rains blocked critical roads, including the route connecting Kunar with Jalalabad, forcing reliance on air transport for aid delivery. The heavy movement of residents, volunteers, and charities has further disrupted humanitarian convoy.
Save the Children estimated that 260 000 children were affected, with at least 280 orphaned, while the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that nearly 1 million livestock were affected in Nangarhar and Kunar.
Much of Afghanistan lies within a broad zone of continental deformation inside the Eurasian Plate. Seismicity in the region is primarily influenced by the subduction of the Arabian Plate to the west and the oblique subduction of the Indian Plate in the east.
The Indian Plate converges with Eurasia at an estimated rate of at least 39 mm/yr (1.5 inches/yr), creating intense transpressional stress and frequent shallow crustal earthquakes.
In eastern Afghanistan, the Hindu Kush seismic zone is characterized by intermediate-depth earthquakes generated by faulting within the subducted Indian Plate.
Shallow crustal seismicity is dominated by the Chaman Fault system, a major transpressional boundary between the Eurasian and Indian Plates. This zone comprises seismically active thrust and strike-slip faults, accommodating crustal deformation since the onset of the Himalayan orogeny.
Earthquakes in this setting frequently exhibit strike-slip faulting mechanisms due to the high deformation rate along the Chaman system.
References:
1 Strong and shallow M6.0 earthquake hits Hindu Kush region, Afghanistan – The Watchers – August 31, 2025
2 FLASH UPDATE #5 – EARTHQUAKE IN EASTERN AFGHANISTAN (KUNAR, NANGARHAR, LAGHMAN) – IOM – September 7, 2025
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
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