The Devastating 2025 Afghanistan Earthquake: A Geological Analysis

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late on August 31, 2025, tearing through narrow valleys in Kunar Province and leaving more than 1,400 people dead and over 3,000 injured. Entire villages built of adobe and field stone collapsed within seconds, while rain-loosened slopes gave way in chains of landslides that severed roads and isolated survivors. What turned a moderate-sized quake into a national disaster was not just where it hit, but how the crust moved beneath it.