Afghanistan (MNN) — A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan around 1 a.m. local time on Monday, when most families were asleep at home. Preliminary reports from the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said at least 20 people were killed and more than 640 were injured.
Nehemiah with FMI says the Taliban-run nation lacks basic infrastructure, including heavy machinery for disaster relief. “Afghan people, they are digging the rubble with their bare hands and trying to find out their loved ones who are buried or who are down in the rubble,” he says.
Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes, and the mud and wood that many Afghan homes are made of can’t withstand many tremors. Most recently, a 6.0-magnitude quake struck eastern Afghanistan one night in late August, killing more than 2,200 people.
(Photo courtesy of FMI)
Today, survivors of the November 3 quake need tents, food, blankets, and basic medical help, says Nehemiah. Yet Taliban control is another factor that hinders much-needed help.
“They [the Taliban] do not want [others to] see what’s going on on the ground. So they don’t want any aid from foreign countries,” he says. “There are very, very few non-profit humanitarian organizations who work in Afghanistan, so they have very limited access to these affected areas.”
An August 2025 report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction documented how the Taliban diverts U.S. humanitarian aid for its own purposes. That environment presents a challenge for FMI partners, too.
“This is very, very strange situation,” says Nehemiah. “It’s very difficult sometimes to proclaim the gospel when you don’t have food to eat, when you don’t have [a] place to stay.”
But FMI partners still point people to Christ. One partner recently visited a family that had no home and was living under the open sky. He was able to give them some aid, and he told them, “This is a gift from your Father.”
“We don’t have a father,” they said, confused.
“Father means Jesus Christ,” the man explained.
Nehemiah says, “This is very important. Sometimes just a simple sentence, not even sharing [the] gospel, but just a simple word that really encourages these families who are stranded in such situation.”
Please pray for gospel hope to reach survivors. Support FMI’s relief work in Afghanistan with a gift of any amount at this critical time.
“Please pray for them. Come forward, support them, and try to be an echo for these brothers and sisters who are voiceless,” Nehemiah says.
Header photo: A boy stands by the side of the road in Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy of IMB — Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License)
