In Herat province, a barren landscape dotted with mud brick houses, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Saturday morning.

Over 500 people are still being searched for with shovels and bare hands, according to the UN.

As a result of blocked routes and downed communication lines, aid began to trickle in only on Monday.

The death toll could be much higher.

“100% of homes were destroyed,” according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in Zindajan, a rural district about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Herat city. Houses were reduced to rubble in the villages because they were too fragile for such a quake to withstand.

“We came home to find everything had turned to mud,” resident Nek Mohammad told AFP. “We started digging with shovels and whatever we had to rescue women and children.”

Initial estimates of the death toll and number of missing were difficult for the Taliban government and aid agencies. Such remote villages are unlikely to have population records.

War and drought have also dispersed communities in the area, making it difficult for the local administration to keep track of how many people live there.