Survivors struggle to rebuild their lives three months after Afghanistan’s devastating earthquake

By OMID HAQJO

ZINDA JAN, Afghanistan (AP) — Survivors of a massive earthquake that struck Afghanistan’s west on Oct. 7 say they’re struggling to rebuild their lives, three months after the disaster. The 6.3-magnitude quake was the country’s deadliest in decades, killing and injuring thousands of people. It flattened every home in Zinda Jan district, the quake’s epicenter. Reconstruction work is underway, but it’s not enough to restore what was lost. The global response to the disaster was slow, with much of the international community wary of dealing directly with the Taliban-controlled government, and focused on the surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7 that triggered the ongoing war, just hours before the quake hit Herat.