Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have announced the end of search-and-rescue operations following the June 22 earthquake that struck the country's east, bringing the death toll from country's worst natural disaster in two decades to 1,150.
Aftershock in Afghanistan As Quake Death Toll Rises To 1,150
- By RFE/RL
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Afghan men search for survivors amid the rubble of a house destroyed by the earthquake, on June 23 in Paktika Province's Gayan district.
The Taliban declared the search for survivors to be over on June 24. The disaster poses a challenge for the Taliban-led government, which is largely isolated as a result of its hard-line Islamist policies toward women and girls. The country had already been battling a severe humanitarian crisis after crucial foreign aid was halted following the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
The Taliban declared the search for survivors to be over on June 24. The disaster poses a challenge for the Taliban-led government, which is largely isolated as a result of its hard-line Islamist policies toward women and girls. The country had already been battling a severe humanitarian crisis after crucial foreign aid was halted following the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
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An armed Taliban fighter guards a helicopter used to disperse aid and pick up injured survivors.
The disaster is a major litmus test for the hard-line Islamists, who have been largely isolated and shunned by the international community over human rights concerns.
The disaster is a major litmus test for the hard-line Islamists, who have been largely isolated and shunned by the international community over human rights concerns.
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An injured Afghan woman waits for treatment. Taliban officials have stated that the country lacks medical supplies to treat the injured and they have requested humanitarian assistance from the international community.
The 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck about 160 kilometers southeast of Kabul, near the Pakistani border, in an arid mountain region dotted with small settlements that has been frequently contested during decades of war in Afghanistan. The Paktika and Khost provinces were worst hit.
The 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck about 160 kilometers southeast of Kabul, near the Pakistani border, in an arid mountain region dotted with small settlements that has been frequently contested during decades of war in Afghanistan. The Paktika and Khost provinces were worst hit.
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An Afghan man walks past a house in Gayan that was damaged in the earthquake.
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Afghan boys carry the body of a child who was killed in the Golam Kot district in Paktika Province.
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An Afghan woman is assisted to an evacuation helicopter after losing some of her relatives in the earthquake in the Gayan district.
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Ahmad Vali poses for a photograph inside his damaged house in Gayan.
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Children look on as an Afghan doctor treats an injured woman.
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An Afghan girl carries empty water containers in the aftermath of the quake.
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Afghan men receive bread from aid workers in an area affected by the earthquake.
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Afghan men stack sacks of aid in Gayan.
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People wait to receive aid in Gayan, which was devastated by the June 22 earthquake. The quake was the deadliest in the country since 2002, when a similarly powerful tremor killed about 1,000 people in northern Afghanistan.
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A Taliban helicopter takes off after bringing aid to Gayan. The United Nations said it was deploying medical health teams and supplying medicines, but it said it does not have search-and-rescue capabilities in Afghanistan.
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An Afghan boy stands near the graves of his relatives who died in the earthquake in Gayan.
