ICRC reaches remote communities affected by earthquake in Kunar

Not a single house remains standing in Masoud village of Nurgal district following the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan’s remote Kunar region that claimed more than 2,200 lives last month.

Of the 1,000 inhabitants, some 60 lost their lives and about 130 suffered injuries when their homes – made of stone, clay or mud – crumbled as the earth shook on the night of 31 August. An ICRC team managed to reach the village days after the earthquake and witnessed the scale of the destruction.

Communities continue to live in makeshift camps under very difficult conditions, lacking essentials such as food, water and basic health care. Many are traumatized and fear going back to their ruined homes because of the danger that aftershocks will cause buildings to collapse further.