AFGHANISTAN: Children flee homes after second major earthquake in two months

Toronto, November 3, 2025 – Another massive earthquake in Afghanistan – the second in two months – forced children to flee their homes in the middle of the night and caused at least 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries, said Save the Children which is sending an emergency health team to the impacted area.

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of Monday, with the epicentre in Samangan province, an hour from the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Severe shaking was also felt in the capital, Kabul, with tremors reported as far away as Pakistan.

The tremors caused panic and terror for children and their families, forcing them to run from their homes in provinces across northern Afghanistan where temperatures are dropping as winter sets in.

The full impact of the earthquake is still being assessed as rescue teams reach affected areas, but at least 20 people are reported to have died and about 320 injured with houses destroyed and damaged.

Save the Children is sending a mobile health team to Samangan as part of an initial response.

This latest earthquake comes just two months after a 6.0 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in Eastern Afghanistan. The devastating earthquake destroyed or severely damaged more than 8,000 homes, with thousands of children and families now facing a freezing winter in tents, either in camps or close to the ruins of their homes.

Cold weather heightens health risks, especially for young children. It weakens immune systems and increases susceptibility to acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia.

The earthquakes in Kunar and Nangarhar also destroyed livelihoods, with most people in the remote, rural villages dependent on livestock and agriculture for income. Nearly every family assessed lost all their food when the quakes reduced homes to rubble.