An initial United Nations assessment of the recent earthquake in Afghanistan revealed that 5,230 homes were destroyed and 672 were damaged across 49 villages. However, the UN has yet to reach the majority of the remote villages.
Shannon O’Hara, Head of Strategy and Coordination for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan, stated on Monday that the quake, with a magnitude of 6.0, struck the rugged and mountainous eastern region of the country. Damaged roads have severely hindered efforts to assess the impact on the 441 affected villages.
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She added that a series of aftershocks, ranging from 5.2 to 5.6 in magnitude, compounded the challenges.
The earthquake, which hit on August 31, claimed at least 2,200 lives, with the death toll potentially rising as more bodies are found. The United Nations estimates that up to 500,000 people, over half of them children, have been affected.
