Christian charity Tearfund has launched an urgent appeal for support after a second powerful earthquake struck northeast Afghanistan, compounding the devastation caused by Sunday’s 6.0-magnitude tremor.

The earthquakes have killed around 2,200 people, according to Reuters.

Solomon Cornelius, Tearfund’s country director for Afghanistan, said: “Ahmad, 42, was sleeping outside when the earthquake struck. He saw the roof of his house suddenly fall in on his two daughters sleeping inside.

“Alongside the practical needs for emergency shelter and food, there is also a need for compassion and support for people like Ahmad who have lost family and friends in this deadly earthquake,” he added.

Safa Hijazeen, Tearfund’s regional director for Eurasia and Northeast, told Premier about the scale of the disaster: “A young man named Kareem told us it felt like the village was being bombed. Everything people know, homes, families and livestock was buried in an instant.”

He added that the mountainous terrain and landslides are blocking roads, leaving many villages cut off, with survivors forced to dig loved ones out with their bare hands.

“People have lost access to food, clean water and basic needs,” Hijazeen said.