AFGHANISTAN: AT LEAST 120 KILLED AND 1,000 INJURED IN 6.3 QUAKE

Sat 07 October 2023:

The death count from a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in western Afghanistan on Saturday has risen to “about 120”, disaster relief authorities said, with more than 1,000 others being treated for injuries.

The United States Geological Survey said the epicentre was 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of the region’s largest city Herat, and was followed by eight aftershocks with magnitudes between 4.3 and 6.3.

Crowds of residents fled buildings in Herat at around 11:00 am (0630 GMT) as the quakes began.

Men, women and children stood out in the wide streets, away from tall buildings, in the moments after the first quake and remained wary of returning to their homes as aftershocks rumbled for hours.

Early on Saturday evening, disaster management authority spokesman Mullah Jan Sayeq told AFP that the number of fatalities was expected “to rise very high”.

“There are some areas that are totally collapsed and all the houses are damaged,” he said. “People are still buried under the rubble. The aid agencies are trying to reach the area.”

Hundreds of fatalities were possible, according to a USGS preliminary estimate.

“Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response,” it said.

Afghanistan: at least 120 killed and 1,000 injured in 6.3 quake pic.twitter.com/KHPxMOnDOY

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) October 7, 2023

The USGS had earlier reported the first quake’s magnitude as 6.2. It had a shallow depth of just 14 kilometres, it said.

Herat — 120 kilometres east of the border with Iran — is considered the cultural capital of Afghanistan.

It is the capital of Herat province, which is home to an estimated population of 1.9 million, according to 2019 World Bank data.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

In June last year, more than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless after a 5.9-magnitude quake — the deadliest in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century — struck the impoverished province of Paktika.

In March of this year, 13 people were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan by a magnitude 6.5 quake, which hit near Jurm in northeastern Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement late Saturday that that military and rescue services have been dispatched to Herat as a matter of urgency. He also said urgent measures should be taken to provide shelter and food to the survivors who have been left homeless.

Mujahid said that all stops need to be pulled out to rescue survivors who are trapped under rubble.

Reports meanwhile indicated that telephone lines are down, which is causing difficulties in obtaining precise details from the impacted areas.

Herat is considered the cultural capital of Afghanistan and is the official capital of Herat province which is home to an estimated population of 1.9 million.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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