Post-event investigation of multiscale failure patterns associated with the M_w 6.0 2025 Nurgal-Kunar earthquake, Afghanistan

On August 31, 2025, a M_w 6.0 earthquake struck the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar, Laghman, and Nangarhar, marking the devastating Nurgal-Kunar Earthquake. This study presents results from a post-event reconnaissance survey focusing on structural, geotechnical, social, and environmental impacts. Field investigations revealed complex failure patterns, including surface ruptures, slope instabilities, ground settlements, and liquefaction, especially in valley and hillside settlements. The Nurgal and Chawkay districts suffered the most destruction, with about 6,700 houses collapsed. Structural typologies showed out-of-plane wall failures due to poor bonding and confinement. Fragility models for rural buildings highlighted sensitivity to steep topography and site amplification. The earthquake triggered a severe humanitarian crisis around 3,000 fatalities occurred as water, housing, and healthcare systems were severely disrupted. Over 200 medical facilities were damaged, while contaminated water sources increased disease risk. Women and children in remote communities were disproportionately affected. A comparative analysis with the 2022 Khost Earthquake revealed growing vulnerability under similar social and structural conditions. The findings highlight the urgent need for resilient reconstruction, community-based risk reduction, and improved microzonation across Afghanistan’s seismically active eastern highlands.