Afghan Quakes Kill 2,053, Injure 240

AFP/APP

Herat, Afghanistan: A magnitude 6.3 quake, followed by eight strong aftershocks, rocked Zendeh Jan district of Herat province on Saturday, killing 2,053 and injuring240 across 13 villagesas rescue workers dug through razed villages for vanishing signs of life, revealed officials.

Disaster Management Ministry Spokesman Mullah Janan informed that over 1,300 homes were toppled when a quake jolted hard-to-reach areas in rural Zinda Jan district, 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of the provincial capital of Herat.

On-site search operations in the affected area are ongoing, Sayed added, warning the fatality figures would likely rise higher still.

According to the United States Geological Survey, one further aftershock of magnitude 4.2 hit the same area around 7:00 a.m. (0230 GMT) on Sunday morning.

Everything turned to sand

In Sarboland village in Zinda Jan district, an AFP reporter saw homes ruined near the epicenter of the quakes which shook the area for more than five hours.

In the very first shake, all the houses collapsed. Those who were inside the houses were buried and there are families we have heard no news from, said 42-year-old Bashir Ahmad.

We came home and saw that there was actually nothing left. Everything had turned to sand, said 32-year-old Nek Mohammad. So far, we have nothing. No blankets or anything else. We are here, left out at night with our martyrs, Nek added.

Afghanistan is already suffering a dire humanitarian crisis, with the widespread withdrawal of foreign aid following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

Herat province, home to around 1.9 million people on the border with Iran, has also been hit by a years-long drought that has crippled many hard-scrabble 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.