Afghanistan Earthquake Death Toll Exceeds 1,400 as Aid Cuts Hamper Relief

SEP 3·UPDATED SEP 3

Afghanistan Earthquake Death Toll Exceeds 1,400 as Aid Cuts Hamper Relief

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Above: People outside severely damaged houses in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province on Sept. 2, 2025. Image copyright: Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

This devastating earthquake exposes how international aid cuts are literally costing Afghan lives when disasters strike. With hospitals shuttered and rescue capabilities crippled by funding withdrawals, ordinary Afghans are paying the ultimate price for political disputes with the Taliban government. The timing couldn't be worse — just as Afghanistan faces this natural disaster, the very humanitarian infrastructure needed for emergency response has been systematically dismantled by donor nations.

ReliefWeb Sky News

Narrative B

Afghanistan's earthquake response demonstrates exactly why the international community must maintain strict oversight of aid distribution rather than enabling Taliban control over resources. The regime's track record of diverting assistance and imposing restrictive policies on aid workers proves that channeling support through experienced partners like the UN and Red Cross remains the only viable approach to actually helping Afghan people.

Metaculus Prediction

Public Figures

Donald Trump

Articles on this story

Rescuers race to find Afghan earthquake survivors as death toll passes 1,400

PBS NewsHourAUG 31

An earthquake destroys villages in eastern Afghanistan and kills 800 people, with 2,500 injured

PBS NewsHourAUG 31

Afghanistan earthquake death toll soars over 1,400 as rescuers in Kunar province struggle to reach survivors

Death toll soars past 1,400 as rescuers battle to reach earthquake survivors in Afghanistan

Afghanistan earthquake: Taliban appeals for international aid as rescue teams search for survivors

‘The walls collapsed around me’: Afghans describe quake devastation

At least 800 people killed as earthquake hits eastern Afghanistan

Al JazeeraAUG 31

Over 1,400 killed in Afghanistan earthquake as rescuers ‘race against time’ to save survivors

New York PostAUG 31

Rescue efforts after Afghanistan earthquake kills more than 800 video

Afghanistan earthquake: What we know on the deadly quake and rescue operation as the Taliban call for foreign help

Scramble for survivors as Afghan earthquake death toll passes 1,400

BreitbartAUG 31

Afghanistan death toll passes 1,400 as second earthquake strikes

Shock at scale of destruction as Afghanistan earthquake death toll climbs to more than 1,400

IndependentAUG 31

Afghanistan earthquake death toll soars over 1,400 as rescuers in Kunar province struggle to reach survivors

Afghanistan Earthquake Reduces Villages to Rubble, Hundreds Dead

Afghanistan Earthquake Relief Organizations How To Help

Bias Split Public Figures Controversies

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© 2025 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.16.0

© 2025 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.16.0