Cracks and landslides that have appeared on a mountain in the Chihil Sutun area south of the Afghan capital, Kabul, threaten around 300 homes near the slopes, amid warnings that rocks and debris could reach residential neighbourhoods. The National Disaster Management Authority has sent technical and specialist teams to assess the scale of the danger, while residents face the possibility of evacuation without many having the financial means to move to alternative homes.
Soroush Rahimi, who has lived in the area for 15 years, began noticing changes in the mountain above residents’ homes about a year ago. He said part of the slope shifted after snowfall and rain, before new and extensive cracks appeared recently, increasing residents’ fears that sections of the mountain could collapse towards their homes.
Residents link cracks to stone extraction
Rahimi monitors the cracks, which he says continue to widen, explaining that residents had previously noticed changes in the slope but that the current situation is causing greater concern. He links the mountain’s condition to stone extraction and sales in recent years, saying excavation beneath the slope left sections hollow and weakened its cohesion.
According to Rahimi, the authorities asked those involved in stone extraction to stop their activities after the problem emerged. However, the effects of previous excavation operations continue to worry residents, particularly because homes stand directly below the mountain and near cracks and slopes believed to be unstable.
Mohammad Mansour Raji, a neighbourhood resident, said many homes surrounding Chihil Sutun mountain were built years ago on or near its foothills because of limited land and high housing costs in Kabul. He added that stone extraction had continued in different parts of the mountain in recent years, saying the work had contributed to weakening some areas of the slope.
Evacuation hampered by high rents and limited resources
For families living there, however, evacuation means more than leaving their homes, as it requires finding alternative accommodation in a city where rents are rising and demand for housing is increasing. Residents attribute mounting pressure on the housing market to the return of large numbers of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan.
Raji says rising rents have made moving to another area difficult for many families, particularly low-income households that had already turned to the outskirts of the capital and mountain foothills in search of affordable homes. Among Chihil Sutun’s residents is Ataullah Zormati, who returned from Pakistan and rents a home in the area for about 15,000 Afghanis a month.
He said warnings about the possibility of residents being evacuated had caused him great concern, but that he did not know where he could move if asked to leave his home. Zormati added that his financial circumstances made it difficult to rent another home and that many families returning from Pakistan faced the same problem.
He explained that residents understood the danger posed by the cracks but at the same time lacked the resources to pay new rent and cover the costs of moving. Mohammad Yusuf Hammad, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority, confirmed that around 300 homes around Chihil Sutun mountain were at risk from landslides and falling rocks.
Technical teams assess landslide and evacuation risks
He said the authority’s teams had assessed the area after cracks and landslides were detected and had taken initial measures to deal with the situation. Hammad explained that technical and specialist teams had been sent to assess the scale of the risks, and that residents in cracked areas or near dangerous slopes had been warned to stay away from sites that could experience collapses.
He added that any decision to evacuate families would depend on the findings of the technical assessments. The spokesman warned that continued slope instability could cause rocks and debris to reach residential areas below the mountain. He noted that the danger could increase during rainfall or other natural events capable of shifting soil and rocks and raising the likelihood of landslides.
Akhtar Mohammad Khadem, head of the authority’s risk prevention and reduction department, said the affected section of the mountain extends 350 metres in length and is about 150 metres wide, while some cracks are nearly 3 metres wide. These measurements differ from residents’ estimates, which put the length at between 150 and 300 metres and the width at up to 4 metres in some locations.
Khadem added that initial assessments indicated that stone extraction and non-engineered excavation on the mountain’s foothills were among the main factors weakening the slope’s stability and creating conditions for a landslide. He confirmed that the relevant authorities had halted those activities and begun taking technical measures to monitor the situation and reduce the risks.
Experts warn of intertwined geological and urban factors
However, geology experts warned against attributing the cracks solely to stone extraction, stressing that slope stability can be affected by interacting natural and human factors. Afghan geologist Hassan Malistani said the situation fell within the phenomenon of slope instability and called for urgent precautionary measures.
Malistani called for new construction work in the area to be halted and for mining and stone extraction activities to be banned. He also urged a precise engineering assessment of homes within the danger zone, allowing authorities to identify families needing evacuation rather than relying solely on general warnings to residents.
Geology specialist Khalil Ahmad Nadim said the widening cracks required urgent technical monitoring because continued expansion could cause the ground to subside or sections of the slope to slide. He said stone extraction could be one contributing factor but did not by itself provide a complete explanation for the phenomenon.
Nadim called for a broader study covering the area’s geological formation, groundwater depletion and urban expansion, as well as the loads created by building on the slopes. The call is consistent with demands for a comprehensive engineering assessment before determining which areas can remain inhabited and which require evacuation.
Concerns are not limited to homes, as the historic Chihil Sutun minaret stands near the site of the cracks. It is one of the landmarks associated with the history of the area south of Kabul. The safety of the minaret and its surroundings is being monitored by the relevant authorities as sections of the mountain continue to shift and the cracks widen.
The relevant authorities assessed the condition of the minaret and its surroundings amid movement on the slope. Technical assessments warned that continued sliding and widening cracks could threaten the stability of the area near the historic landmark, alongside the danger facing residential neighbourhoods below the mountain. The housing crisis remains the biggest obstacle to any potential evacuation.
For Zormati, paying 15,000 Afghanis a month for his rented home is an economic burden, and he cannot afford another rent payment and moving expenses. Raji is calling on the authorities not to limit themselves to warning residents, but also to provide alternatives for families who may be forced to leave their homes.
Raji says rising land and housing prices have driven many families to live on or near mountain slopes. As the cracks on Chihil Sutun mountain widen, these families find themselves caught between the risk of possible landslides on one hand and their inability to afford housing elsewhere on the other, while the evacuation decision remains tied to the results of ongoing technical examinations.
