The United States will provide almost $55 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan following a devastating earthquake on June 22 that killed at least 1,000 people, injured countless more and destroyed an estimated 10,000 homes.
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Afghanistan’s hard-hit Patika Province in the eastern section of the country. The State Department said the quake “intensified the ongoing humanitarian crisis the Afghan people have endured for too long.”
Relief agencies already on the ground in Afghanistan, funded by the U.S., immediately responded to the area with medical care. President Biden ordered an assessment of any additional needs in the wake of the disaster, officials said.