Afghanistan Flash Update #4: Earthquake in Nangarhar Province (7 September 2025)

Highlights

• Humanitarian partners continue to respond to the devastating earthquakes that struck Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, eastern Afghanistan over the past week. Following the initial quake in Nangahar Province late on 31 August, three significant aftershocks – the first one on late 2 September (5.3 magnitude) and two more within a few hours late on 4 September (5.6 and 5.2 magnitude) – struck the same districts already heavily impacted by the initial quake across neighbouring Kunar Province. The aftershocks resulted in further casualties and additional destruction of shelters and roads.
• Aid and health workers deployed to support the response have been injured during aftershocks. Additional road blockages have further hindered access in and out of the worst-affected areas, as well as to humanitarian distribution points in Chawkay and Nurgal districts, Kunar Province.
• Reports from joint field assessments completed thus far in 49 villages across five districts (Chapa Dara, Chawkay, Dara-e-Pech, Nurgal and Watapur) in Kunar Province, two districts (Dara-e-Nur and Kuz Kunar) in Nangarhar Province and one district (Alingar) in Laghman Province indicate that 5,902 families (38,269 people) have been affected, with 5,230 homes destroyed and 672 damaged. The human casualty toll has been high, with 1,475 people confirmed killed (400 women, 329 men, 398 girls and 348 boys), and a further 2,381 injured (1,319 females and 1,062 males). Numbers are expected to continue to rise as assessments continue across four further villages. Overall, the de facto authorities (DfA) are reporting 2,205 people killed, a further 3,640 people injured, and 6,700 homes destroyed and 84,000 people affected.
• Partners report the formation of informal settlements in Shalt and Ziri Baba villages in Nurgal District of Kunar Province hosting an estimated 792 families displaced from quake-affected areas. Additional reports mention settlements forming in Patan village in Kunar District and Khas Kunar District. Humanitarian partners are coordinating with first responders and the de facto authorities for the provision of life-saving aid to affected communities.
• Cluster partners have distributed ready-to-eat meals, including high energy biscuits and cooked meals, to 43,000 people across all affected districts, prioritizing assistance to women, children, elderly, persons living with disability and other at-risk groups. In addition, 14 veterinary mobile teams deployed to start livestock carcass disposal.
• Response is ongoing with 43,000 ready-to-eat meals as well as 1,077 family tents, 901 standard non-food item (NFI) kits, shelter repair toolkits and blankets, and 695 winter clothing kits distributed across all affected districts. Some 3,400 people have been reached by 22 hygiene teams and 1,820 families received WASH NFIs and hygiene promotion activities across 13 villages in Chawkay, Khas Kunar, Nurgal districts. In the same area, 3,100 people are being provided with freshwater trucking in addition to 250,000 water cleaning tablets (“Aqua-tabs”) distributed. A total of 517 under five years old have been screened for severe and moderate malnutrition and 158 pregnant and breastfeeding women have been enrolled into Blanket Supplementary Feeding Programmes (BSPFs). Six child-friendly spaces are set up in Chawkay and Nurgal districts.