KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Families who lost their homes in last year’s earthquake in Kunar province are enduring severe hardships, sleeping in sub-zero temperatures during the harsh winter, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.
In a post on X on Sunday, UNICEF said that over the past week, it distributed 1,775 winter clothing kits and 3,550 blankets to help protect children from the freezing weather.
The 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces on August 31. It was the country’s deadliest quake since 1998, killing nearly 2,000 people and injuring about 4,000. More than 56,000 families were affected, over 6,200 homes were destroyed, and 2,000 sustained severe damage. Many displaced families continue to live in temporary shelters or outdoors, struggling to survive in freezing temperatures.
The UN estimates that $128 million is needed to rebuild homes, schools, and essential services in the quake-hit provinces and has prepared a three-year recovery plan for the affected areas, calling for international funding to support reconstruction and long-term recovery efforts.
Afghanistan has experienced multiple deadly earthquakes in recent years. In November last year, a quake in the northern provinces killed at least 25 people and injured nearly 1,000. These natural disasters compound an already severe humanitarian crisis in the country. According to the UN, nearly half of Afghanistan’s population, around 22 million people, mostly women and children, require humanitarian aid in 2026.
