Afghans face crises on all fronts after quake kills 1,000

Aid groups scrambled on Thursday to reach victims of a powerful earthquake that rocked eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 1,000 people in an area blighted by poor infrastructure, as the country faces dire economic and hunger crises.

Humanitarian agencies are converging on the area, but it might be days before aid reaches affected regions, which are among the most remote in the country.

Teams deployed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have yet to arrive, according to Anita Dullard, ICRC’s Asia Pacific spokesperson. Shelley Thakral, spokesperson for the UN World Food Program (WFP) in Kabul, said efforts to get aid to the affected areas are being slowed by the condition of the roads.