‘Race against time’ in earthquake-hit Afghanistan as UAE residents call for aid

Afghan expats mourn earthquake victims as death toll exceeds 1,400

The Joint Operations Command has intensified its relief efforts in Afghanistan. Today, three aircraft took off carrying more than 105 tonnes of food supplies to support and assist those affected by the earthquake that struck the eastern regions of Afghanistan. Photo: WAM

Earthquake-affected people receive relief aid distributed by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in the Dewa Gul Valley of Sawkay district in Kunar province. AFP

Workers load supplies onto a truck for earthquake victims in Nurgal district, Kunar province. Reuters

A doctor tends to an injured Afghan woman outside her damaged house in Kunar province. Reuters

Paramedics reach areas affected by an earthquake in Kunar. EPA

People sit outside their damaged houses. Reuters

Afghan volunteers collect donations for victims in Jalalabad. AP

A woman and her children wait for assistance in the village of Wadir. AP

Rescue officials prepare to airlift injured people to hospital. EPA

Residents from surrounding towns and villages try to reach the quake-hit region to assist survivors. AP

The body of a girl is placed on a bed frame after being pulled from the rubble. AP

Afghan boys sit on the rubble of a house after a deadly magnitude-6 earthquake struck Afghanistan on Sunday, at Lulam village, in Nurgal district, Kunar province. Reuters

Villagers wait for assistance in the village of Wadir. AP

A boy injured during Sunday's earthquake lies in a hospital bed in Jalalabad. AP

Rescue volunteers and Taliban security officers move the injured by military helicopter following a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in the Mazar Dara village of Nurgal, north-east of Jalalabad. AFP

Earthquake damage at Mazar Dara village in Nurgal district, eastern Afghanistan. AFP

An Afghan carries the body of a relative in a shroud from a ruined house following earthquakes in the Mazar Dara village of Nurgal, eastern Afghanistan. AFP

Bearers take the deceased to a funeral ceremony after earthquakes at Mazar Dara village in Nurgal district, eastern Afghanistan. AFP

An injured boy receives hospital treatment after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake near Jalalabad, Afghanistan. AFP

Afghans donate blood in Nangarhar. Hundreds are known to have died in the earthquake, with the death toll expected to rise. AP

Volunteers transport an injured man to hospital. AFP

Taliban soldiers and civilians carry earthquake survivors to an ambulance at an airport in Jalalabad. Reuters

Afghan residents in the UAE have urged the international community to step up and provide urgently needed relief after an earthquake struck their homeland.

It comes as the death toll passed 1,400 on Wednesday after one of the country’s deadliest earthquakes, with more than 3,000 people injured.

Afghan citizens living in the Emirates were overwhelmed with grief speaking to families and friends who have lost loved ones in the quake. They have urged the world to come forward to provide assistance to the survivors and help bury the dead with dignity.

“It’s devastating to see our people go through so much pain,” Wazhma Ayoubi, owner of a fashion brand with more than one million followers on Instagram, told The National.

Some of Ms Ayoubi’s friends lost relatives in the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck on Sunday, destroying entire villages across Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province. A second earthquake of 5.5 magnitude shook south-eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, compounding the damage.

“Entire families have been torn apart in a matter of seconds,” the Dubai resident said. “What hurts most is knowing that so many bodies are still lying out in the open, unburied, simply because there are no means to bring them to safety. Families are unable to give their loved ones the dignity of a proper burial.”

She said the true scale of the tragedy would be known only when roads are cleared to reach remote villages, as landslides have cut off access to thousands of people.

Heartbreak at home

Ms Ayoubi said helicopters and more rescue teams were needed urgently to reach survivors stranded in the mountains.

“Urgent medical assistance, tents, clothing and food are desperately needed to keep survivors alive,” she said. “Beyond the immediate crisis, aid is essential to rebuild shattered homes, broken roads and collapsed infrastructure. This is not just a humanitarian need, it is a race against time to save lives before the suffering deepens further.”

She described crushing heartbreak as families mourned the loss of parents and children. “The sorrow is overwhelming, yet our people continue to endure it,” she said. “But they cannot do it alone. Now more than ever, they need the world to stand beside them.”

Media images show devastating scenes of survivors attempting to clear the rubble by hand and calling out to people who remain trapped.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has appealed for help but most governments have been hesitant to send funds due to concern it will go to the administration.

Urgent relief

The UAE is among a small group of countries that have sent assistance. A UAE rescue team will conduct search operations along with local authorities and the Emirates Red Crescent will provide medical aid and shelter to those affected.

Unicef said it would send medicines, clothes, tents and essential supplies, and the UK, EU, India, China have sent food and essential supplies to Afghanistan.

UAE residents are in constant touch with relatives at home and have told how rescuers struggled to reach the earthquake-hit areas in the mountains, with many areas still inaccessible.

“The earthquake was so strong that my family, who are in Kabul, about 200km away, also felt the earth move,” said Jahan Zar, a hotel employee in Dubai. “I know people with family in Kunar and they are beyond despair because they have not been able to reach their parents. People are using their hands, shovels, anything to reach those under the earth.”

The aftermath of the earthquake in the Dara-i-Nur district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. AFP

Mr Zar said many quake-hit villages are far from hospitals and towns with medical facilities.

“More people will die because help is not reaching in time to mountain areas that have collapsed,” he said. “Roads must be opened up and for that you need heavy equipment. My people need help soon.”

He was among thousands of Afghan cricket fans cheering their team to victory against Pakistan in the T20 tri-series on Tuesday. “We first thought we would not go to the match but decided we must support our team and will just keep asking the world to help,” Mr Zar said.

A minute’s silence was held before the game in memory of the earthquake victims. The Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced it will host a charity match in Khost province on Friday, in which the national team will play and the proceeds will go towards relief efforts.