[Today’s Prayer]2,200 Dead in Afghan Earthquakes – Third Major Quake Hits… Desperate Rescue with Bare Hands

In Afghanistan, the death toll from two recent powerful earthquakes has surpassed 2,200. Now, another quake above magnitude 5 has struck, raising fears of further damage.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), at 9:56 p.m. local time on the 5th, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistan. The epicenter was at latitude 34.57°N, longitude 70.75°E, with a depth of 10 km. This remote area, called Shiwa, is near the Pakistan border.

This is the third major quake since a magnitude 6.0 quake on August 31 and a magnitude 5.2 quake on September 2 in neighboring Nangarhar Province. Already, the previous two quakes had caused 2,205 deaths and 3,640 injuries, and now another quake has struck.

Many poorly built mud-brick houses and buildings have collapsed, while roads and transport infrastructure have been heavily damaged, making it difficult for heavy equipment to reach the area and hampering rescue efforts.

(Omitted)

According to Reuters, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that the humanitarian need in the Afghan earthquake-hit regions is "immense and growing rapidly." Survivors in many areas are desperately digging through the rubble with pickaxes and basic tools, without access to proper equipment, in search of the missing.

(Omitted)

The New York Times reported that under the Taliban regime’s law forbidding contact between men and women, most male rescuers have neglected and abandoned female victims, worsening the suffering of women.

Aisha (19), a female resident of Kunar Province, told NYT that while injured men and boys were rushed away for treatment, she and other women—some bleeding—were pushed aside. “They gathered us in a corner and then forgot about us,” she said, explaining that no one came to help or even approached to ask what the women needed. According to Aisha, even four days after the first quake, no female rescuers or aid workers had arrived in her village.

Tajibullah Muhajeb (33), a male volunteer in Kunar’s Mazar Dara area, said that male rescuers were hesitant to pull women out of the rubble and instead waited for women from other villages to come and assist. He added, “Men and boys received treatment first, while women sat apart waiting. It was as if they were invisible.”

The Taliban regime prohibits women from physical contact with men other than close relatives (father, brothers, husband, sons). In addition, they have blocked women’s medical education, creating a severe shortage of female doctors and rescuers, NYT reported.

Source: Yonhap News

“For as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.” (1 Corinthians 11:12)

We hear heartbreaking news from Afghanistan: after two deadly earthquakes killed more than 2,200 people, yet another quake above magnitude 5 has struck. Poorly built houses and buildings have collapsed, transportation infrastructure is damaged, and with heavy machinery unable to reach the area, survivors are desperately searching for the missing with only pickaxes and bare hands.

God, have mercy on the souls of eastern Afghanistan, where aftershocks continue and the death toll rises daily. May you strengthen the rescue workers so that those trapped beneath the rubble may be saved quickly.

We also pray for Your mercy upon women who are suffering all the more because Taliban law forbids contact between men and women, causing male rescuers to neglect them. With women’s medical education cut off, there is a serious shortage of female doctors and rescuers, leaving female victims without help.

Pour out the love of the cross of Jesus—who loves all people equally—into the Afghan church, so they may show leadership in helping the earthquake victims. Even if Islamic law forbids physical contact with the opposite sex outside of family, may the church stand firm in the truth that “all things are from God” and treat every life with dignity, rescuing Afghan women in time.

Let the global church continue to serve Afghan souls and raise its voice against the Taliban’s persecution of Christians and denial of women’s rights. Through prayer, let us support those who have lost homes, families, and livelihoods, and may the evil acts of the Taliban regime be stopped.

Lord, let the people of Afghanistan come to know that You love them to the end and are the Savior who gives new life. Make Afghanistan a nation that leads revival and joyfully proclaims the love of Jesus to all nations!