Melbourne’s local Afghan community has launched a fund-raising effort to support the victims of a devastating earthquake in eastern Afghanistan.

The community has set a target of $100,000 in funding to support the victims of the quake and have so far raised half of the amount.

The campaign is centred around the Afghan Islamic Centre and Omar Farooq Mosque (AICOM), in Melbourne’s south-east.

Spokesman for the group Rokhan Akbar said the fund-raising effort was aimed at the Afghan community and the broader Australia community.

“What has happened is a huge calamity and whole villages and communities have been devastated,” Rokhan said.

“It is heart breaking for many of our community members and we are reaching out to Australia to donate what they can to help the survivors through social media and we are asking the Australian Government to also step up and provide assistance,” he said.

“We are hearing stories about families who have lost loved ones as well as livestock and their homes. In some cases, whole villages have been flattened, and people are left with literally nothing.

“We know of one person who lost 35 members of his family. Some people have lost parents; some have lost all children and siblings.

“The devastation is immense, and the affected area is an area that is hard to reach for relief teams. So even small steps or donations can male a big difference in people’s lives,” Rokhan said.

The devastating 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck on August 31 and was followed by several aftershocks, claiming more than 1000 lives, with the toll likely to rise.

Thousands of homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, leaving families without shelter and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The south-eastern Paktika and Khost provinces are in rough mountainous terrain in the landlocked country.

The area located is more than 200 kilometres from more well-equipped healthcare facilities in the capital Kabul.

Humanitarian teams are on the ground in the affected areas, working with local partners to conduct a full assessment of the damage and provide emergency shelter, health care and protection support to affected communities.

This tragedy comes at a time when Afghanistan is already facing huge pressures, with high levels of food insecurity as Afghanistan faces one of the largest return movements in recent history.

More than 1.7 million Afghans having returned from Iran and Pakistan in 2025, many to communities already struggling with limited resources.

A further one million Afghans are expected to return from Pakistan over coming months following the Pakistan government’s decision not to extend the visas of Afghan nationals.

The UN’s migration agency IOM reported the earthquakes have added another layer to Afghanistan’s overlapping crises.

“The event is devastating families who were also coping with displacement and economic hardship. With winter approaching, the risks are even greater: thousands of families now lack safe shelter as temperatures begin to drop,” IOM said.

IOM has called on the international community to step up funding to prevent suffering and protect millions of people at risk.

Where to donate:

Omar Farooq Masjid 

BSB: 063 – 626

Acc: 1071 – 5968

To donate via UNHCR, click here

To donate via Save the Children, click here

To donate via UNICEF Australia, click here