More than 1,100 people were killed when an earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, and rescuers are desperately searching for survivors among the rubble of the homes.
About midnight on Sunday, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake and at least five aftershocks hit remote regions in mountainous provinces close to Pakistan’s border.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, the head of the Kunar Provincial Disaster Management Authority, stated on Tuesday that “operations continued throughout the night.”
He claimed that there were “still injured people in the distant villages” that needed hospitalization.
Villagers jumped in and rescued the debris from simple mud and stone homes built into steep valleys using only their bare hands.
According to the UN migration agency, some of the hardest-hit villages are still accessible due to blocked roads.
According to the USGS, the earthquake epicentre was located 27 kilometers (17 miles) away from Jalalabad, which claimed it struck at a shallow 8 kilometers (5 miles) below the Earth’s surface.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced an initial $5 million in aid on Monday, stating in a statement that the organization was working with local authorities to “sweekly assess needs, provide emergency assistance, and stand ready to mobilize additional support.”
According to the Afghan Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organization active in the area, the death toll from the earthquake has increased to 1,124. The organization claimed that the disaster caused at least 3, 251 injuries and more than 8, 000 homes, as well as at least 3, 251 of those who were hurt.
According to government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, there are also dozens of injured in Laghman province.
Given that the majority of Afghans reside in low-rise, mud-brick homes vulnerable to collapse, relatively shallow quakes can cause more damage.
Pope Leo XIV expressed his deep sadness over the magnitude of the earthquake’s “significant loss of life” in a post shared by the Vatican.
Near the confluence of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, earthquakes frequently occur in Afghanistan, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range.
Western Herat province was ravaged by an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 in October 2023, which left over 2, 000 people dead and more than 63 000 homes without life.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply