Afghanistan: Pope prays for victims of earthquake

Image: UNICEF

Source: Vatican Media, UNICEF, CAFOD

A powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, killing at least 812 people and injuring more than 2,800, officials said yesterday. The quake hit at 11:47 p.m. local time, with its epicentre located 27 kilometres northeast of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, at a depth of eight kilometers, according to geological data.

Officials said many residents are feared trapped beneath rubble, and helicopters have been deployed to reach remote regions inaccessible by road.

In Nangarhar province, authorities confirmed 12 deaths and 255 injuries. Laghman province reported 58 injuries, while Nuristan province recorded four. "These are preliminary figures and expected to rise as assessments continue," a government official said.

Upon hearing the news, Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram to everyone affected by the devastating natural disaster. In the message, signed by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope said he was "deeply saddened by the significant loss of life".

Offering his prayers for all who were killed, the injured, and everyone still missing, Pope Leo entrusted "all affected by this disaster to the providence of the Almighty" and he expressed "his heartfelt solidarity in particular with those who mourn the loss of loved ones and with the emergency personnel and civil authorities involved in rescue and recovery efforts."

In his message, the Pope invoked "divine blessings of consolation and strength" upon the entire Afghan people during this difficult time for the nation.

The rugged terrain in the quake area has complicated rescue efforts, but emergency response teams have been dispatched to the affected zones to accelerate aid delivery and search operations. UNICEF, the United Nations' children's agency, has local teams working with Afghan authorities to assess the damage and coordinate humanitarian support.

CAFOD is one of the charities that has been working in Afghanistan since the late 1980s. Thanks to donations made by CAFOD supporters, over the years the charity has provided emergency support to thousands of families to help them put food on the table and survive the harsh winter.

Janet Symes, CAFOD's Head of Asia and Middle East region, said: "The Afghan people cannot bear another tragedy. Millions of people in the country are already struggling to survive due to the deep economic and social crisis following the takeover of power by the Taliban in August 2021, which compounded periods of drought, decades of conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic and has been made worse by the surge in food prices due to the conflict in Ukraine."

To support CAFOD's new appeal for Afghanistan see: Afghanistan Crisis Appeal.