Afghanistan: Flash Update #6 Earthquake in Nangarhar Province (16 September 2025)

Highlights

• Humanitarian partners continue to respond to the devastating earthquakes that struck Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, eastern Afghanistan between 31 and 4 September.
• Reports from joint humanitarian assessments completed thus far in 134 out of 411 affected villages across 15 districts in Kunar (9), Nangarhar (4) and Laghman (2) provinces indicate that 8,489 families (56,061 people) have been affected, with 6,312 homes destroyed and 2,177 damaged. The reported number of people killed has been slightly reduced compared to the previous update due re-verification of reports for some villages, with 1,992 people confirmed killed (518 women, 481 men, 513 girls and 480 boys), while the number of injured has risen 3,631 (1,956 females and 1,675 males).
• Response is ongoing with different forms of food distributions to at least 102,969 individuals, along with specialized nutrition support for at-risk groups, including malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women. An estimated 27,466 people were provided with 410m³ of chlorinated drinking water in addition to more than 11,000units of bottled water and 760,000 aqua-tabs distributed. In total, 3,410 families received emergency shelter materials; standard non-food items (NFI) kits were provided to 3,156 families, winter clothing kits to 3,219 families and blanket modules to 4,807 families along with different forms of hygiene kits to 5,194 families. Some 16,000 individuals have received psycho-social support, awareness activities and referral services for gender-based violence. Seven integrated child-friendly and temporary learning spaces and 24 child-friendly spaces (CFS) have been set up across the affected areas.
• On 14 September, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, together with the RC/HC ai, the OCHA Head of Office and the WFP Deputy Country Representative visited Kunar Province to meet with humanitarian partners, de facto authorities and engage with earthquake-affected communities.
• On 15 September, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, addressed the ongoing response efforts in the UN Daily Press Briefing and underscored that female aid workers remain indispensable to the humanitarian response.

Humanitarian Needs and Response

As of 15 September, joint assessment teams have reached 134 out of 411 villages in the most affected areas in nine districts (Asadabad, Chapa Dara, Chawkay, Dara-e-Pech, Khas Kunar, Narang, Nurgal, Sarkani and Watapur) in Kunar Province, four districts (Behsud, Dara-e-Nur, Jalalabad and Kuz Kunar) in Nangarhar Province and two districts (Alingar and Mitharlam) in Laghman Province.

Of the 8,489 families assessed thus far, 7,716 families (90 per cent) are currently sheltering in open space, exposed to the elements and the cold, and 8,296 families (98 per cent) report to have lost their household items, including blankets, clothes and tools. A further 8,091 families (95 per cent) report to have lost their food stock.

The damage to water and sanitation infrastructure is extensive with more than 130 water sources reported damaged and destroyed across the 134 assessed villages. Due to the damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, 112 communities are currently practicing open defecation, 104 communities have no hand washing station available and 107 communities report a lack of hygiene-related NFIs such as soap. Considering that cholera is already endemic in the region, a rise in the number of cases already observed pre-quake since mid-July and with severe shortages of essential hygiene and sanitation NFIs recorded in the affected areas, humanitarian partners remain concerned for a wide-spread outbreak of Cholera and other waterborne diseases.

Across the affected areas, 90 community-based education (CBE) classes and 24 public schools in Nangarhar (10) and Kunar (14) provinces were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake, affecting the education of 2,434 children. An Education in Emergencies assessment together with the Provincial Departments of Education will begin shortly to assess the full scale of recovery efforts needed.

A total of six temporary camps has been established by de facto authorities across Kunar Province, including in Patan and Zirai Baba villages in Nurgal District, on the Khas Kunar Military Base and three in Andarlachak and Dewagal Valley of Chawkay District. Humanitarian partners continue to coordinate with the relevant line ministries and provincial directorates of the de facto authorities, including the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) and others. Humanitarian partners are also providing assistance in camps in Ghaziabab and Wadir villages in Nurgal District in Kunar Province.