Description: Afghanistan was struck by a 6.0 – magnitude earthquake with the epicenter located in the Nangarhar and Kunar provinces of the country, where crucial fault lines from the European and Asian continent tectonic plates cross paths. So far, more than a thousand people have been estimated to have lost their lives, as emergency services in the country were having difficulties accessing the mountainous eastern provinces where most of the indigenous infrastructure was completely destroyed. Afghanistan, which largely depends on foreign donations and has a health system mostly being funded by those donations called for international assistance, as the earthquake was the result of immense flooding in the region, as Pakistan and India also continued to struggle to contain the effects of the natural disasters.
Impact: The natural disaster underscores substantial vulnerabilities in Afghanistan’s infrastructure, the depleted emergency services and the impact of having a conservative Taliban – led government which is not recognized by most of the world. The country’s frozen assets remain under US financial custody, as the war-torn country is yet to establish substantial relations with countries in order to start socio – economic restructuring following the US military withdrawal in 2021. Similar natural disasters in India and Pakistan have affected deadly consequences and irreparably damaged critical infrastructure, which points towards the need of having a regional coordinative body for emergency and disaster prevention, which is only achievable through international exposure. The disaster also underscores the importance of internationally funded aid programs, such as USAID, which has been dismantled by the Trump administration, and its impacts in regions where domestic capacities are easily overwhelmed in times of crisis.