Afghanistan earthquake today live updates: people killed, map and latest news
Headlines: Huge 6.1 magnitude earthquake hits Afghanistan
- Taliban-controlled Bakhtar news agency confirms more than 1,000 people have died in the quake
- Rescue workers are struggling to reach the remote region of Paktika
- Footage shows landslides and mud-built homes being destroyed
- The Taliban is in control of Afghanistan after the botched US exit last year
- More than 1,500 confirmed injured but countless more are still stuck in rubble
Helpful links & Information
- Why did the US leave Afghanistan?
UN Migration agency offers support on the ground
The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) are providing vital emergency response in the Paktika region of Afghanistan to combat the tragic events of Wednesday morning. The remote region of the country is difficult to access and is populated by huge mountains, making rescue efforts incredibly difficult. Already there have been reports of landslides as a result of the earthquake.
The IOM is working with local groups on the ground but the rescue effort is made more difficult by the absence of Western aid groups, many of whom left when the Taliban took control last year.
Afghan officials struggle to deal with emergency response
"There are no official aid workers, but people from neighbouring cities and villages came here to rescue people. I arrived this morning, and I - myself - found 40 dead bodies."
"The de facto authorities [Taliban] reached out early this morning asking the UN family here in Afghanistan to support them in terms of assessing the needs and responding to those affected."
Helicopters needed for rescue efforts in remote Paktika region
Rescue workers have struggled to get to the eastern region of Paktika, Afghanistan to offer support and aid to victims of the earthquake that struck this morning. We are now getting footage of helicopters landing with rescue workers and additional supplies for those affected by the incident. As yet it is not clear how many have been killed or injured in the quake, but earlier today local Taliban new sources confirmed that more than 1,000 had already died. That number is only expected to grow in the days and weeks to come.
What is the highest magnitude earthquake ever?
The earthquake which struck Afghanistan in the early hours of Wednesday was the most powerful to hit the country since a magnitude 6.1 earthquake and subsequent tremors in 1998. That also took place in Afghanistan’s remote northeast and was responsible for the deaths of at least 4,500 people.
But those quakes are still some way short of the most powerful ever recorded, which rated above a '9-magnitude' on the Richter scale.
1. Valdivia, Chile 22 May 1960 (magnitude 9.5)
2. Prince William Sound, Alaska 28 March 1964 (magnitude 9.2)
3. Sumatra, Indonesia 26 December 2004 (magnitude 9.1)
4. Sendai, Japan 11 March 2011 (magnitude 9.0)
5. Kamchatka, Russia 4 November 1952 (magnitude 9.0)
Afghan earthquake update from CBS News
The massive earthquake which hit Afghanistan today is thought to have occurred at around 1:30am in the early hours of Wednesday morning. This meant that many people were asleep at the time it struck and many are likely to have be stuck in the rubble. The early hour also meant that emergency service response was much slower than it could otherwise have been, both factors likely contributed to the high death toll which is thought to be more than 1,000 already.
Where is Paktika, Afghanistan?
The earthquake in Afghanistan this morning struck a very rural region on the country's eastern border with Pakistan. The area is just south of the capital of Kabul, but the mountainous terrain and lack of transport infrastructure make it very difficult to travel to their and is hampering rescue efforts.
Remote location makes it difficult to confirm fatalities
Footage from Sky News shows the frantic efforts from people on the ground to evacuate victims of the earthquake. The quake struck in the remote Paktika region, where a large proportion of the population live in fairly rudimentary mud-build huts and have only limited emergency service provision. This will not only make the resuce effort far more difficult, but also means that exact figures on the death toll are unlikely for some time. In addition, a huge number of aid workers and agencies left the country in the aftermath of the Taliban's conquest of Afghanistan in 2021.
The situation in the Middle East shifted dramatically in 2021 when the United States ended a 20-year occupation of Afghanistan and the Taliban resumed control of the country. The extremist group quickly assumed almost complete control in Afghan life but its attempts to rebuild relations with the nation's neighbours in the region were more difficult.
Here's our run-down on the picture in the region, and the countries who share a border with Afghanistan...
How many people have died in the Afghan earthquake?
The death toll in Afghanistan has risen to 1,000, according to local Taliban-controlled source Bakhtar news agency. Figures are still very vague on exactly how many people were caught up in the tragic incident on the country's eastern border with Pakistan and it could be days or even weeks until the full death toll is known.
Huge effort underway after Afghan earthquake
Photos from Reuters show the chaotic scenes in Paktika, Afghanistan as local people struggle to get support after a massive 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck the remote region. Helicopters have been deployed to help those on the ground but the rural region is difficult to reach and much of the country's international aid has dwindled after the Taliban took over last year.
Reuters
Reuters
Earthquake on the Afghanistan - Pakistan border
Afghanistan is reeling from a huge 6.1 magnitude earthquake which struck in the early hours of Wednesday, 22 June, in the Paktika region to the east of the country. Paktika is one of 34 provinces in Afghanistan and has a population of around 750,000 people. The region is found on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and is bordered by the Khost and Paktia provinces to the north. The Pakistani leader Dr. Arif Alvi has already offered his condolences to the neighbouring country, but it is not yet clear if there has been any suffering in Pakistan too.
More than 1,000 people thought to have died
Official reports from the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar news agency claim that the death toll after the earthquake has been upped to more than 1,000 people. The tragedy struck the remote region on Pakitka and officials are struggling to get the required support and relief workers to the area. The number of people confirmed injured has also risen to 1,500 but it is thought that the true figure is far higher as there are countless people still trapped in the rubble from collapsed buildings.
Last year the extremist political party known as the Taliban took over control of Afghanistan as the United States exited the country after two decades. The group assumed almost complete control in Afghan life but now have to contend with a natural disaster on an enormous scale, and have to do so without the aid and foreign support that has been relied upon in the past.
We take a look at the Taliban, who they are, and their method of government in the majority Muslim nation...
WATCH: Footage shows the extent of destruction in Afghanistan
Close to a thousand people are thought to have died in a huge earthquake in the Pakitka region of Afghanistan, which struck in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Rescue workers on the ground are already engaging in a major rescue mission in the fairly remote region. The nation's Taliban-led government is trying to provide support for people on the ground in the form but is struggling to get the required aid to the people.
Pakistan President offers solidarity to those affected
The area of Afghanistan thought to be worst-hit by today's earthquake was toward the border with Pakistan, a nation with which it shares spikey international relations. Pakistan leader Dr. Arif Alvi has offered his condolences to those affected by the Afghan earthquake in a tweet posted; it remains to be seen is any aid or refugee programs can be arranged between the two nations.
Live footage shows evacuations from Afghanistan
Harrowing scenes from Pakita, Afghanistan show how the earthquake has ripped through local communities, where many people live in humble shacks and cheaply build dwellings. The scale of the disaster is still unknown but reports have said that the quake struck as many people were sleeping, leaving them unprepared for the situation. However the country's aid economy, particularly in remote areas such as this, has been severely underfunded since the Taliban took over the country last year.
Reuters reports massive 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan
Full details are still emerging about a massive earthquake which struck Afghanistan's Paktika region on Wednesday morning. Reports from the ground are still few and far between but it thought that a massive evacutation effort is already underway. Here's what Reuter's Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Jibran Ahmad know so far...
"An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 killed 920 people in Afghanistan early on Wednesday, disaster management officials said, with more than 600 injured and the toll expected to grow as information trickles in from remote mountain villages.
Photographs on Afghan media showed houses reduced to rubble, with bodies swathed in blankets lying on the ground.
Helicopters were deployed in the rescue effort to reach the injured and fly in medical supplies and food, said an interior ministry official, Salahuddin Ayubi." (Reuters)
NYT reports more than 920 killed already
The scale of devastration caused by the Afghan earthquake is still unknown but reliable reports from the ground claim that more than 920 people have already lost their lives. Afghanistan was recaptured by the Taliban last year after the botched US exit and local government officials are warning that the total death toll will likely go far higher.
Latest News and Information on the Afghanistan Earthquake
Tragic news from the Middle East on Wednesday, 22 June as a massive earthquake was recorded in the Paktika region to the east of the country. Taliban leaders have already confirmed that 920 people have died but the death toll is expected to rise considerably.