In the town of Gayan, close to the epicenter, villagers stood atop a pile of mud bricks that once was a home there. Others carefully walked through dirt alleyways, gripping damaged walls with exposed timber beams to make their way across.

The rescue operation will be a major test for the authorities, who took over the country in August last year after two decades of war and have been cut off from much foreign assistance because of Western sanctions.

Still, officials from multiple agencies of the United Nations said that the Taliban were giving them full access to the area.