KABUL: King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center is providing essential aid and supplies to residents of northern Afghanistan after a powerful earthquake struck the area earlier this week.

At least 27 people were killed and nearly 1,000 more injured when the 6.3 magnitude quake struck the northern provinces of Samangan, Sar-e-Pul and Balkh on Monday, according to the Ministry of Public Health.

Dozens of homes were destroyed and civilian infrastructure was severely affected, especially in rural areas where emergency support was limited. Tremors also damaged one of the country’s most iconic mosques, the 15th-century Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif.

As aid agencies and UN teams have called for urgent international assistance, warning that many survivors are without shelter and medical support, KSrelief has delivered hundreds of tents, blankets and over 140 tonnes of food supplies.

“This time, the earthquake affected many families in Balkh, Samangan and Sar-e-Pul provinces and we are receiving this round of support from Saudi Arabia. Our thanks and gratitude to the people and the government of Saudi Arabia and special thanks to the KSrelief,” Shahabuddin Delawar, general director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, said upon receiving the aid from Saudi Ambassador Faisal bin Talaq Al-Baqmi in Kabul.

“This is not the first time Saudi Arabia has helped Afghanistan. Our cooperation has a long history. Saudi Arabia has always extended a helping hand to Afghanistan. Recently, during the Kunar earthquake response, we received very generous support from Saudi Arabia, providing vital relief for thousands of Afghan families.”

The quake in northern Afghanistan comes just three months after a powerful earthquake hit the densely populated rural areas of Kunar and Nangarhar provinces in the country’s east in early September. More than 2,200 people were killed and many more injured as entire villages were wiped out.

Response to the September earthquake has already strained Afghan emergency and medical services, which are now struggling to cope with the aftermath of the new disaster.

Abdul Fatah Jawad, director of Ehsas Welfare and Social Services Organization, which is helping with relief efforts, said the situation was “heartbreaking,” especially in Samangan and Balkh, where hundreds of families had lost everything.

“People are deeply traumatized, especially women and children. Most families have been sleeping out in the open for days, in the cold, with barely any shelter. The nights are freezing, and many children are already falling ill,” Jawad told Arab News.

“The scale of the devastation is overwhelming, and the needs are far greater than the help that has reached so far. I urgently call on the people, the government, and international organizations to step forward and help. Every bit of support can save lives right now.”