Hundreds of people are reported dead after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near the city of Jalalabad close to the Pakistan border.
Taliban authorities reported at least 800 people were killed and 2,500 injured.
In Nangahar's Darah Noor district, residents told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that tremors were still being felt on September 1, following the quake that occurred just before midnight.
“We urgently need tents and immediate assistance for the injured in the hospital for treatment," Shad Noor Mazloomyar said.
"We have no food, and everything has been destroyed, our homes, equipment, and kitchens. Nothing is left.”
Another Nangarhar resident, 35-year-old Shukrullah Halim, said "People’s homes have been destroyed."
"Everything has been leveled to the ground. There is an urgent need to deliver health kits to the people and to provide food and essential household supplies," he added.
Video posted on social media showed people desperately digging through rubble, trying to reach people trapped underneath.
Injured survivors were being airlifted from the remote, mountainous region by helicopter. Taliban officials said the terrain made it difficult to get aid and emergency workers to the scene.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban government, said rescue operations were still underway and warned that the death toll was expected to rise.
Speaking at a news conference in Kabul, he said there were some 800 fatalities in Kunar Province and 12 people killed in Nangarhar Province.
"What happens is that these are stepped houses on top of each other," on mountain slopes, UNICEF spokesman Salam Al-Janabi told Times Radio.
"A lot of the casualties are happening because these houses are tumbling on top of each other," he explained.
Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, with the last one in October 2023. In that case, the death toll rose steadily as emergency work continued. The Taliban gave a final figure of 4,000 dead, although the United Nations said the figure was around 1,500.
The latest quake struck around 11:45 p.m. on August 31 and was centered some 27 kilometers northeast of Jalalabad in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGA).
Modelling by the USGA earlier suggested the estimated number of deaths could reach into the hundreds of people.
The USGA said the quake was 8 kilometers deep, a relatively shallow level that often causes greater damage than deeper temblors.
A 4.5-magnitude quake struck in the region some 20 minutes later, followed by another aftershock of 5.2 magnitude, according to the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ).
Residents of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad -- more than 300 kilometers away -- reported feeling buildings shaking.
"Unfortunately, tonight’s earthquake has had human casualties and financial damage in some of our eastern provinces,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X.
“Local officials and residents are making all the efforts to rescue affected ones. Support teams from the capital and nearby provinces are also on their way. All available resources will be used for the rescue and relief of the people,” he added.
Residents of Kabul -- about 100 kilometers away -- also were shaken.
The quake comes after Nangarhar Province was hit by heavy flooding over the weekend that killed at least five people and destroyed crops and property.
Afghanistan, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, is often impacted by earthquakes. Casualty tolls are over exacerbated because of poor building standards, remote locations, and the difficulty of getting assistance to victims.
