Women displaced from damaged homes may now face obstacles accessing aid shelters, female-staffed clinics and safe living spaces. Local humanitarian networks stress the need for immediate deployment of female-led teams to ensure vulnerable groups are reached.
A powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 6.3 struck Northern Afghanistan in the early hours of Monday, leaving shockwaves of damage and disruption across the region. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the tremor occurred at a depth of 28 km, about 22 km west-south-west of the town of Khulm in Balkh Province.
In the city of Mazar‑e Sharif, the region’s major urban centre, residential buildings trembled, walls cracked and the famed Blue Mosque – a 15th-century shrine of enormous cultural significance – suffered partial damage to its masonry and tile façade. Officials say hospitals were placed on alert and emergency teams deployed from capital Kabul in the early hours.
Rescue operations have now expanded into more remote districts of Balkh and neighbouring Samangan Province, where collapsing slopes and landslides were reported. According to a provincial spokesman, at least four fatalities were confirmed in the Khulm district, with additional casualties in villages cut off by rockfalls.
Humanitarian and Gender Concerns
Beyond the immediate structural collapse and trauma, aid agencies are raising alarm over how the disaster will disproportionately affect women and girls. In a recent earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, observers noted that restrictions under the Taliban regime – such as bans on women being treated by male doctors and limitations on female humanitarian workers – left female survivors without timely access to care.
Activists say that in the current event, the same constraints risk compounding the trauma. Women displaced from damaged homes may now face obstacles accessing aid shelters, female-staffed clinics and safe living spaces. Local humanitarian networks stress the need for immediate deployment of female-led teams to ensure vulnerable groups are reached.
Why the Region Shakes So Frequently
Afghanistan lies at the heart of one of Asia’s most seismically active zones. The northward movement of the Indian tectonic plate against the Eurasian plate, combined with the influence of the Arabian plate, drives frequent strong earthquakes in the country. Since 1990, more than 355 earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 or greater have been recorded in Afghanistan alone.
Much of the population lives in mountainous terrain and many buildings are constructed from mud-brick or non-engineered masonry, making them highly vulnerable to even moderate shaking. Experts say that shallow-depth quakes of magnitude 6 and above are especially likely to cause major damage in such contexts.
Response and Road Ahead
The national disaster-management body has called for international assistance, particularly air-lift capacity and heavy equipment to reach isolated villages. The UN mission in Afghanistan is coordinating with local relief agencies to deploy emergency shelters, medical aid and water-sanitation kits.
Authorities emphasise that aftershocks remain a threat and residents are being urged to evacuate damaged buildings. In districts where roads are blocked by landslides, relief access remains a major challenge. Meanwhile, community volunteers in urban areas like Mazar-e Sharif are organising search teams, clearing rubble and setting up temporary shelters.
As the early-morning light reveals the full scope of damage, the focus is on ensuring that the most vulnerable – women, girls, and remote hillside communities – are not left behind during the critical first days of the response. In a country long battered by conflict and natural disasters, this quake serves as yet another reminder of the urgent need to build stronger, more resilient infrastructure and to prioritise inclusive humanitarian access.
Image: ICRC
