as the Taliban said the death toll passed 1,400 on Tuesday, with more than 3,000 people injured. The figures provided by Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid were just for the province of Kunar. Sunday night’s powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck several provinces, causing extensive damage. It flattened villages and trapped people under the rubble of homes constructed mostly of mud bricks and wood that were unable to withstand the shock. Rough terrain is hampering rescue and relief efforts, forcing Taliban authorities to air-drop dozens of commandos to evacuate the injured from places where helicopters cannot land.

Aid agency Save the Children said one of its teams walked for over 12 miles (19 kilometres) to reach villages cut off by rock falls, carrying medical equipment on their backs with the help of community members. An aftershock of 5.2 close to the epicentre of Sunday’s quake rattled the area on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage. Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s resident coordinator for Afghanistan, said rescuers are scrambling in a “race against time” to reach the mountainous and remote area hit. In a media briefing in Geneva Tuesday, he warned of a surge in casualty numbers. “We cannot afford to forget the people of Afghanistan who are facing multiple crises, multiple shocks, and the resilience of the communities has been saturated,” Ratwatte said, while urging the international community to step forward.

“These are life and death decisions while we race against time to reach people,” he said. It is the third major earthquake since the Taliban seized power in 2021, and the latest crisis to beset Afghanistan, which is reeling from deep cuts to aid funding, a weak economy, and millions of people forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan. (Jamaica Gleaner)