KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A UN-led assessment estimates that the earthquakes that struck eastern Afghanistan in late August 2025 caused $86.8 million in damage, with total recovery and reconstruction efforts requiring $128.8 million.
The Joint Rapid Recovery Needs Assessment (JRRNA) released by the UN Afghanistan on Tuesday indicates that the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that hit parts of Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces on Aug. 31, 2025, caused widespread human casualties and destruction of homes and basic infrastructure.
According to the assessment, 1,992 people were killed, and 3,631 were injured, with women accounting for a significant portion of casualties. Over 8,300 homes were damaged or destroyed, leaving thousands of families displaced and in urgent need of shelter, health services, and basic necessities.
The assessment was led by the United Nations, UN Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, in partnership with 14 other organizations. It estimates $128.8 million is needed to address immediate humanitarian needs and support medium- to long-term recovery, including housing, health, education, and community infrastructure.
UN agencies say they have delivered emergency tents, cash assistance, and basic relief items to thousands of affected households. However, the assessment notes that nearly 10,000 households still require urgent shelter assistance, with around 7,700 people remaining displaced months after the disaster.
The assessment recommends a “build back better” approach, focusing on local leadership, community ownership, conflict-sensitive planning, and gender-responsive, disability-inclusive programming, especially in areas hosting displaced families and returnees. This approach aims to ensure that rebuilt homes and infrastructure are safer, more resilient, and better prepared for future shocks.
Afghanistan has experienced multiple deadly earthquakes in recent years, including one earlier last month in the north that killed at least 25 people and injured nearly 1,000 others.
The disasters occur amid a deepening humanitarian crisis, with the UN estimating that nearly 23 million people, more than half the population, require assistance. Its $1.6 billion funding appeal for 2025 remains less than half funded, raising concerns about the ability to meet recovery needs and ongoing humanitarian demands as the harsh winter approaches.
The UN and humanitarian partners continue to call for sustained international support, warning that funding shortfalls could slow recovery efforts and worsen humanitarian conditions across the country.
