Deadly quake in Afghanistan kills over 1,000 people

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

A powerful earthquake on June 22, 2022, struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, flattening stone and mud-brick homes and killing at least 1,000 people. (Photo | AP) 

The disaster inflicted by the 6.1-magnitude quake heaps more misery on a country where millions face increasing hunger and poverty and the health system has been crumbling since the Taliban retook power nearly 10 months ago amid the U.S. and NATO withdrawal. (Photo | AP)

The quake was Afghanistan’s deadliest in two decades, and officials said the toll could rise. An estimated 1,500 others were reported injured. (Photo | AFP)

In a rare move, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzadah, who almost never appears in public, pleaded with the international community and humanitarian organizations “to help the Afghan people affected by this great tragedy and to spare no effort.' (Photo | AFP)

Residents in the remote area near the Pakistani border searched for victims dead or alive by digging with their bare hands through the rubble, according to footage shown by the Bakhtar news agency. (Photo | AP)

The quake was centered in Paktika province, about 50 kilometers southwest of the city of Khost, according to neighboring Pakistan’s Meteorological Department. (Photo | AP)

The disaster posed a new test for Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and relief agencies already struggling with the country’s multiple humanitarian crises. (Photo | AP)

A villager collects his belongings from under the rubble of his home that was destroyed in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost Province, Afghanistan. (Photo | AP)

Men stand around the bodies of people killed in an earthquake in Gayan village, in Paktika province, Afghanistan. (Photo | AP)

In this photo released by Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, a convoy of truck carrying relief good including tents, blankets and emergency medicines for Afghanistan's earthquake hit areas, prepare to leave for Afghanistan at a warehouse in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo | AP)