The earthquake of Afghanistan in August 2025 reveals the cost of international isolation. Scientists warn

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On August 31, in the middle of the night, an earthquake of 6.0 was struck by the Eastern Kunar Province in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border.

Although it is moderate in size, the earthquake has caused widespread destruction and claims more than 3,500 people, including many women and children. Now, UNU scientists attribute this important death to decades of conflict and instability in Afghanistan, and the isolation of the growing diplomatic nation after the Taliban acquired in 2021.

A new evaluation of the damage to the August 31 earthquake by the United Nations University of Water and Health and Health Institute (UNU-Inweh) has found that more than 13,000 buildings were damaged or collapsed 50 km from the earthquake center in eastern Afghanistan. Some villages have seen up to 90 % of their affected buildings. A low -quality construction, mismanagement of disasters, and broader political political context define the main contributor to the impact of the earthquake.

The constant economic hardship and the backwardness of millions of Afghans forced to live in homes less than a little chance against earthquakes. Most of the buildings in affected areas were made of clay bricks or harsh stone with minimal engineering and collapsed as soon as the earthquake was hit. Since the country is more isolated than ever, and has international infrastructure funding and relief in emergency situations, similar disasters are expected to occur again if no decisive action is taken.

“The August 31 earthquake in Afghanistan showed how moderate earthquakes caused catastrophic losses when the fragile infrastructure and the poor preparedness of societies were exposed,” said Dr. Manoshir Sherzai, the chief scientist at the World Environmental Intelligence Laboratory at UNUWEH.

“Our analysis highlights the urgent need in Afghanistan to constant investment in the safer construction and reduce disaster risk. Without these measures, future earthquakes will bring at least the same destruction.”

The earthquake's effect has been particularly decreased on women and girls who face strict sex restrictions. Many survivors have not been able to access medical care in time because they are prohibited from seeing male doctors without observation. The restrictions imposed on the movement of women and the ban on female aid workers also mean that relief and assistance supplies often cannot reach most of the needy. What has exacerbated the lack of workers in the field of health care is the ban on medical education for women, which is limited to the ability of treatment in the country for women and girls affected.

Professor Cafe Madiani, UNU-IWEH Director, said: “The recent earthquake in Afghanistan revealed the unpopular effects of a natural disaster on women and girls in a restricted society.” “The systematic exclusion of women from education, employment and decision -making makes societies weaker and more vulnerable to disasters.”

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Among the other major shareholders who were identified through the analysis of the timing of the earthquake, its shallow depth, and heavy seasonal rains in the weeks before the event. Most of the population was inside before midnight, and they were trapped when the buildings began to collapse.

With the original just 8 km below the surface, the shake was concentrated directly under the populated areas in Konar Province, putting the structures under severe pressure. What made matters worse is that weeks of seasonal winds have eased the slopes, and the earthquake sparked the landslides that buried roads and tils t at the rubble.

This post concludes that the growing international isolation of Afghanistan was largely short of aid and support by the international community, making the Afghan population very weak. The authors call for improving the elasticity of disaster relief frameworks to ensure that people who live under governments that have been approved are not excluded from humanitarian aid efforts and disaster recovery.

Main results:

About 13241 buildings 50 km from the affected area – damaged or destroyed. In some villages, 90 % or more buildings were destroyed, leaving the population without shelter. The earth's deformation reached 23 cm during the main August 31. On September 4, the final tremor also caused about 17 cm of ground deformation. The collapsed buildings were mainly the rural clay homes or Adobe, along with some small construction stores and community buildings. The landslides resulting from the slopes covered with the buried rains and the prohibited roads, cut aid and delay the rescue efforts. She left the isolation of Afghanistan and very responding to disasters that suffer from a lack of resources and slowed down international relief. Poverty, insecurity housing on risky terrain, lack of raised losses and leaving survivors feel abandoned. The gender restrictions and lack of female health workers have created life -threatening barriers for medical care and assistance for women and girls. The earthquake was hit immediately before midnight, when most of the population was inside and slept, leaving them trapped in the collapsed structures. At a depth of about 8 km, the earthquake was very shallow, causing a condensed surface vibrating significantly.

More information: MANOOCHEHR Shirzaei et al, assessing damage to the August 2025, (2025). DOI: 10.53328/inr25MSIr002

Provided by the United Nations University

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