Afghan earthquake survivors refuse to return to villages, fearing landslides

8/9/2025 12:17

Haunted by the fear that aftershocks could bring rocks crashing down from the mountains, the survivors of Afghan earthquakes vowed not to return to destroyed villages but camp in fields and on riverbanks instead, even without tents to keep off the rain.



"We have no shelter, not even a tent," said 67-year-old farmer Adam Khan, leaning on a stick outside his ruined home in the village of Masud in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar, devastated last week by earthquakes and subsequent aftershocks.



"It rained last night, we had no place to take cover," he added. "Our biggest fear is the big rocks that could come down at any moment."



Two earthquakes on Sept. 1 killed more than 2,200 people and injured over 3,600 across the region, flattening thousands of homes, while aftershocks brought fresh landslides, leaving families trapped between unstable mountains and swollen rivers.



Aid groups sped in food and supplies by helicopter, but survivors say help is patchy and slow.



Afghanistan's poverty and inadequate infrastructure maroon many villages hours from the nearest road, while most homes, build of mud and stone, crumbled instantly in the tremors.