The earthquake, which struck on 31 August 2025 was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Afghanistan’s recent history. The seismic event claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people.

According to a new report released by the international humanitarian organisation, Save the Children, approximately 25,000 children are still living in makeshift tents in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, their homes and schools yet to be rebuilt. This lingering crisis paints a stark picture of the long-term impacts of natural disasters in regions already grappling with extreme poverty and resource shortages.

Six months after a catastrophic 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, the devastating aftermath continues to dictate the daily lives of tens of thousands of survivors, says Save the Children. In Kunar, the struggle for survival has only intensified as winter’s deep chill descends on the region, the organisation says.

The earthquake, which struck on 31 August 2025 was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Afghanistan’s recent history. The seismic event claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people and destroyed or severely damaged upwards of 8,000 homes. Entire communities were instantly flattened, transforming once-bustling agricultural villages into landscapes of rubble. This catastrophic event forced thousands of families out of their homes and into temporary camps, where they remain trapped in a cycle of displacement and uncertainty half a year later.

A Daily Battle Against the Elements

As the harsh Afghan winter brings heavy snowfall to the remote, mountainous region, the living conditions for these displaced families have become increasingly precarious. Many of the temporary tarpaulin tents provided in the immediate aftermath of the disaster have been heavily damaged by the severe weather conditions, leaving vulnerable families exposed to the bitter cold.

To survive the plummeting temperatures, families have been forced to rely on traditional wood- or coal-burning heaters placed directly inside their fragile shelters. This desperate measure to stay warm has introduced a severe fire hazard, adding another layer of daily, life-threatening risk to populations whose lives have already been upended by the natural disaster.

Furthermore, the prospect of returning to permanent housing remains a distant hope. Reconstruction efforts in Kunar province have barely commenced. Humanitarian groups warn that the sheer scale of the destruction in certain remote villages is so extensive that they may never be rebuilt, leaving communities permanently uprooted and entirely dependent on international aid for their survival.

An Education System in Ruins

The August earthquake did not merely shatter homes; it completely devastated the region’s educational infrastructure. Assessments of the disaster zone reveals a sobering reality for the future of Kunar’s youth. More than half of the nearly 1,300 classrooms evaluated were found to be either completely or partially destroyed by the tremors.

Even before the earth shook, the education system in Kunar was facing a massive crisis, with nearly 50,000 primary school-aged children already out of school. Now, the situation has dramatically worsened. With construction work on damaged schools yet to begin, approximately 17,000 children are currently trying to continue their education in temporary learning spaces scattered across the earthquake-affected areas.

Glimmers of Hope Amidst the Rubble

Despite the overwhelming logistical challenges, the establishment of temporary learning centres has provided a crucial lifeline for many young survivors. Save the Children alone has set up 30 temporary learning spaces, serving nearly 1,500 students and offering a sense of routine and safety in an otherwise chaotic environment.

For 12-year-old Maria (name changed to protect her identity), these temporary classrooms have been a revelation. When her village was destroyed six months ago, Maria and her eight siblings embarked on a perilous journey to find safety. “We spent two nights on the road without any shelter, and then we came to this camp where we were provided with tents and other essential kits that helped us,” she recalled.

Before the earthquake, Maria’s educational experience consisted of studying outdoors under the trees in her mountain village, frequently missing classes whenever the weather turned bad due to the lack of a proper school building. “Before this class, I was in my village without any modern tools for learning, and I could not read or write anything,” she shared. “Now, I see many changes in my life. I can read books, I can write anything, and this school helped me to turn my dreams into reality.”

A Looming Funding Crisis

While stories like Maria’s highlight the profound impact of humanitarian intervention, the broader socio-economic picture remains deeply concerning. More than 6,000 families living in Kunar’s displacement camps have completely lost their livelihoods. Previously earning between $75 and $120 a month through agriculture, livestock, and home-based work, these families now rely entirely on cash handouts to survive, stripping them of their self-sufficiency.

Bujar Hoxha, Save the Children’s Country Director in Afghanistan, emphasised the critical need for sustained support to prevent a secondary catastrophe.

“Six months on from the earthquake that destroyed lives and communities, children are still living and learning in tents. It is vital that schools and homes are rebuilt,” Hoxha said. He warned that families in Kunar are experiencing a profound psychological toll, fearing they will simply be forgotten as the world’s attention shifts to other global emergencies. “Families need hope that their shattered lives can be rebuilt, and that requires sustained funding,” he added.

The need for sustained financial assistance comes at a time when Afghanistan faces mounting, overlapping crises. In 2025 alone, over 2.9 million Afghans returned from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, adding intense pressure to already strained local resources. Driven by these compounding factors, the United Nations currently estimates that a staggering 4.2 million people across the country will require immediate shelter support this year.

Save the Children, which was one of the first international organisations to mobilise a response in Kunar, has assisted nearly 89,000 people in the affected areas, including an estimated 34,000 children. Despite these heroic efforts on the ground, humanitarian agencies continue to sound the alarm. Without sustained, robust, and long-term international funding, the recovery of these earthquake-devastated regions could stall indefinitely, leaving tens of thousands of children to face an uncertain future in the shadows of the mountains.