© Reuters/Sayeb Hassib
Afghanistan Emergency
A devastating earthquake has struck eastern Afghanistan. Send emergency aid to families who’ve lost everything.
A devastating earthquake has struck eastern Afghanistan. Send emergency aid to families who’ve lost everything.
A second 5.2-magnitude quake struck the same region soon after, terrifying communities still reeling from the first disaster.
Entire villages have been destroyed. Homes have been reduced to rubble, countless families are exposed to the elements and health services are overwhelmed. Up to 500,000 people are estimated to have been affected.
UNHCR and partners are racing to deliver vital supplies to families such as tents, blankets, jerry-cans and solar lamps. But this new disaster comes as the country deals with crises on multiple fronts.
More than 2.4 million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan this year. Many have been deported from Pakistan or Iran or pressured to leave. They return to communities already struggling from the impact of decades of conflict and natural disasters.
Now this devastating earthquake has destroyed villages and survivors are sleeping in the open, exposed to the elements. Winter is fast approaching—and without urgent support, lives are at risk.
This disaster is another blow for the people of Afghanistan, trapped in poverty and hunger, amid economic collapse.
The needs are only going to grow. Please help now.
Families are struggling to survive without sufficient shelter, food or water. Millions of women and girls are unable to exercise their human rights, including to study and work.
On top of this, the country is enduring another earthquake disaster that will stretch already thin resources to their limits.
UNHCR will stay and deliver for as long as needed in Afghanistan. Caring teams are identifying the most vulnerable people and assisting families by repairing homes, providing cash, and distributing basic supplies such as tents, blankets and solar lamps.
Your support is critical. Every donation helps us reach more families with the aid they need to survive.
Please give today and help protect lives before it’s too late.
Your donation can help us reach vulnerable families in Afghanistan. With your help, UNHCR can provide shelter, clean water, cash assistance, and relief items including blankets, tarpaulins and hygiene kits.
Your gift can provide essential items including tents, blankets, solar lamps and clothing for families who’ve lost everything.
Your gift can provide emergency shelter to protect vulnerable families from a harsh winter.
Your gift can provide cash assistance for Afghan families so they can pay for food, heating, medicine and other essentials.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi
Afghanistan is one of the world’s most urgent crises. Human rights violations, economic instability and food insecurity are threatening the lives of millions of Afghans.
Communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives after a series of disasters, including deadly floods in 2024 and earthquakes in 2023.
Now they are facing a new earthquake disaster. A devastating 6.0-magnitude earthquake has struck near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 2,200 people and injuring thousands more.
Entire villages have been destroyed. Homes have been reduced to rubble and countless families are exposed to the elements. Up to 500,000 people are estimated to have been affected.
Afghanistan has already endured 40 years of conflict and instability, leaving more than half the population in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
These ongoing challenges have stretched refugees, internally displaced people and host communities to their limits. The recent spike in returns from Pakistan and Iran is placing additional strain on Afghanistan's already overstretched resources and services and increasing the risk of further displacement.
Over two million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan this year. Many have been deported from Pakistan and Iran, or otherwise pressured to leave.
They are arriving at the border with very few belongings and no idea what the future holds. Many left Afghanistan decades ago. Others have never seen their homeland. They urgently need assistance to start their lives from scratch.
Tragically, many have been thrust back into disaster amidst this devastating earthquake.
Your donation can help Afghans survive these desperate conditions. Your gift can provide emergency aid such as tents, blankets, solar lamps, jerry-cans and more – helping families who’ve lost everything get through this latest crisis.
UNHCR is responding together with UN partners in a joint humanitarian response.
With homes destroyed, the urgent needs are for emergency shelter and relief items, as well as food, water and medical supplies.
Over 5,600 households are targeted for emergency support. UNHCR is dispatching family tents and essential relief items like thermal blankets, tarpaulins, jerry-cans, stoves and solar lamps from our stockpiles in Kabul, and sending additional personnel. We are also assessing our emergency stockpiles in the region to meet further needs.
UNHCR has been supporting communities in Afghanistan for over 40 years and will continue to stay and deliver through this crisis.
Afghanistan Situation Portal – for the latest updates on the situation overall, including UNHCR situation reports, funding requirements and UNHCR’s support for neighbouring countries taking in refugees from Afghanistan.
The earthquake comes on top of multiple ongoing crises.
Afghanistan is one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian emergencies. Following 40 years of conflict and instability, around half the population needs humanitarian aid. Human rights violations, economic collapse and extreme hunger are threatening millions of lives. Natural disasters, including drought, floods and earthquakes, have left communities devastated and struggling to rebuild.
These ongoing challenges have pushed Afghans to the limit.
The majority of funds raised by Aotearoa New Zealand for UNHCR are directed to UNHCR’s emergency operations, providing the ready funds and resources to respond quickly and effectively in situations of crisis and disaster.