Death toll from 'unprecedented' Afghan quakes doubles to 2,000
Published: 04:10 PM,Oct 08,2023 | EDITED : 08:10 PM,Oct 08,2023
HERAT: The death toll from a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan rose sharply again on Sunday to more than 2,000, with nearly 10,000 injured, as rescue workers dug through razed villages for vanishing signs of life.
More than 1,300 homes were toppled when Saturday's magnitude 6.3 quake -- followed by eight strong aftershocks -- jolted hard-to-reach areas 30 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital of Herat, according to officials.
In rural Zinda Jan district, dozens of households were reduced to jumbles of broken masonry, where makeshift rescue teams dug trenches in the hope of unearthing survivors.
'Our people witnessed an unprecedented earthquake,' said disaster management ministry spokesman Mullah Janan Sayeq, putting the number of dead at 2,053 and injured at 9,240 across 13 villages.
'For the treatment of the victims of the incident we are doing our best,' he told reporters in Kabul.
'On-site search operations in the affected area are ongoing,' he added, warning the fatality figures would likely rise higher still.
One further aftershock of magnitude 4.2 hit the same area around 7:00 am on Sunday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.
In Sarboland village of Zinda Jan district, homes were ruined near the epicentre of the quakes, which shook the area for more than five hours.
Gutted homes showed personal belongings flapping in the harsh wind, as women and children lingered out in the open preparing to spend the night under an open sky.
Multi-generational extended families generally live under the same roof, meaning disasters like Saturday's quake can devastate local communities.
In Herat city, residents fled their homes and schools, while hospitals and offices evacuated when the first quake was felt. There were few reports of casualties in the metropolitan area.
Herat province has also been hit by a years-long drought that has crippled many hardscrabble agricultural communities.
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.
More than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless in June last year after a 5.9-magnitude quake struck the impoverished province of Paktika.
'The Herat earthquake is worse than the eastern earthquake that happened last year,' said disaster agency spokesman Janan.
'Not only by the magnitude and depth, but also more areas are affected and destroyed.'
More than 1,300 homes were toppled when Saturday's magnitude 6.3 quake -- followed by eight strong aftershocks -- jolted hard-to-reach areas 30 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital of Herat, according to officials.
In rural Zinda Jan district, dozens of households were reduced to jumbles of broken masonry, where makeshift rescue teams dug trenches in the hope of unearthing survivors.
'Our people witnessed an unprecedented earthquake,' said disaster management ministry spokesman Mullah Janan Sayeq, putting the number of dead at 2,053 and injured at 9,240 across 13 villages.
'For the treatment of the victims of the incident we are doing our best,' he told reporters in Kabul.
'On-site search operations in the affected area are ongoing,' he added, warning the fatality figures would likely rise higher still.
One further aftershock of magnitude 4.2 hit the same area around 7:00 am on Sunday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.
In Sarboland village of Zinda Jan district, homes were ruined near the epicentre of the quakes, which shook the area for more than five hours.
Gutted homes showed personal belongings flapping in the harsh wind, as women and children lingered out in the open preparing to spend the night under an open sky.
Multi-generational extended families generally live under the same roof, meaning disasters like Saturday's quake can devastate local communities.
In Herat city, residents fled their homes and schools, while hospitals and offices evacuated when the first quake was felt. There were few reports of casualties in the metropolitan area.
Herat province has also been hit by a years-long drought that has crippled many hardscrabble agricultural communities.
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.
More than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless in June last year after a 5.9-magnitude quake struck the impoverished province of Paktika.
'The Herat earthquake is worse than the eastern earthquake that happened last year,' said disaster agency spokesman Janan.
'Not only by the magnitude and depth, but also more areas are affected and destroyed.'