For much of the past two decades, the southeastern part of Afghanistan near the Pakistani border was plagued by insurgent activity, as police and military posts were frequently overwhelmed by Taliban fighters, and received few benefits from the U.S. military presence.
The Taliban takeover in August finally brought relative peace to the far-flung population, despite the hardships they continued to face as the country suffered a drought and economic collapse.
Then early Wednesday, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit the region, shattering what little peace and stability the people there had been able to hold on to after so many years of hardship and violence.