UN: Afghan Quake Destroyed Over 5,200 Homes

UN: Afghan Quake Destroyed Over 5,200 Homes
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The United Nations says preliminary assessments of last month’s powerful earthquake in Afghanistan show more than 5,200 homes were destroyed and nearly 700 others damaged across 49 villages. The quake, which struck on August 31 with a magnitude of 6.0, killed at least 2,200 people, with officials warning the toll is likely to rise as recovery operations continue.

Shannon O’Hara, head of coordination for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan, said on Monday that access to the hardest-hit areas has been severely limited. Damaged mountain roads and a series of aftershocks measuring between 5.2 and 5.6 have hampered assessments in 441 affected villages.

The UN estimates the disaster has impacted around 500,000 people, more than half of them children. Many are families recently returned from Pakistan and Iran. Reaching the epicenter has proved challenging, with aid convoys taking over six hours from Jalalabad through narrow, landslide-prone mountain roads.