"I wish I had died too," say Afghan residents who lost their entire families in the earthquake.

When everything began to shake on Sunday night in eastern Afghanistan , Abdullah was asleep on the upper floor of his flimsy, brick-and-mud home. The father shouted downstairs to his family and asked them to get out quickly. But before anyone could respond, a second tremor shook the entire house and brought it down. Only Abdullah survived.

The man managed to climb out of the rubble with difficulty, wiped the dust from his eyes, and frantically searched for his loved ones . “But there were no survivors. I wish I had died too, instead of seeing this. I'll never forget this image,” he sobbed.

Abdullah explained that more than 80% of the people in his village, Arit, located in Kunar, the hardest-hit province, had died or been injured in the earthquake, which struck while most people were asleep in their homes. He lost 12 members of his family, including his mother, his wife, and five children.

The latest death toll provided by the Taliban government is 2,200, Reuters reported. At least 3,600 people were injured, but the UN fears the figures could worsen, particularly due to two aftershocks measuring over 5 on the Richter scale that struck the same region on Thursday and Friday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).

Rescue teams are still struggling to reach some of the most remote communities, as the quake struck a mountainous area with very limited infrastructure. Although Afghanistan is located in a region prone to seismic activity, most people live in very basic houses, built of mud and wood, which are not equipped to withstand earthquakes. Aid organizations noted that heavy rains in the days leading up to the quake had also softened the ground, making it less stable.

UN agencies report that when access is finally gained to the affected areas, the grim realization is that everything is lacking: food, medicine, and safe places to shelter. Residents prefer to sleep outdoors rather than in half-ruined houses that could collapse, and humanitarian organizations are trying to distribute tents and tarpaulins to the victims.

“Everyone is searching for their relatives. Perhaps more than 160 people have died or been injured in this small town alone, most of them women, children, and the elderly,” Abdullah said.

This father isn't the only survivor to have suffered such a devastating loss. Malek, 43, said his wife, three sons, two daughters, his parents, and siblings all died in the earthquake. "We were asleep, and the mud-brick houses collapsed on us," he said. "I have nothing left, but I don't want help. I just want to bury the bodies of my loved ones," he added.

I have nothing left, but I don't want help, I just want to bury the bodies of my loved ones.

Malek, earthquake victim

The crowing of the roosters

An Afghan aid worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the situation in Kunar was indescribably bad. In some of the villages they were able to reach, he explained, there were no people left alive, and the only sound was the crowing of roosters.

“After the earthquake, all roads were blocked, travel by land was impossible, and relief teams couldn't reach the affected areas in time,” he said in a telephone interview with Rukhshana Media. “We walked for about three hours to reach the village of Mazar Dara, in the Nurgul district. In the Lachak Tangi area, people were carrying about 40 bodies on their shoulders. After 30 hours, many families were still under the rubble. Most of them were women and children,” he added.

Experts emphasize that, after the first three days, the chance of finding people alive in the rubble of an earthquake decreases dramatically. Bahir, a resident of the affected area, explained, for example, that a seven-year-old girl named Nazia was pulled alive from the rubble after 19 hours, but all her family members were dead.

In the Lachak Tangi area, people were carrying about 40 bodies on their shoulders. After 30 hours, many families were still under the rubble. Most were women and children.

Afghan aid worker

This resident also pointed out the problem of not having women working on rescue teams and in services that provide protection to survivors, especially because there are many female victims.

Along these lines, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said it was "particularly concerned that women and children have been severely affected by the earthquake, and providing them with support may be even more complicated due to the shortage of female humanitarian staff to address their specific needs."

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have issued more than 100 edicts that restrict women's rights and presence in society, starting with a ban on women studying—an unprecedented situation worldwide—and working in most activities, and then banning them from moving about alone on the streets, expressing themselves freely, or enjoying even minimal leisure time. For all these reasons, the UN believes the Taliban regime has established gender apartheid and persecuted Afghan women.

Finally, UNHCR also indicated that health services are overwhelmed, a situation exacerbated by the return to Afghanistan of millions of displaced people from Iran and Pakistan, from where they were deported in recent months, which has increased the local population.