According to the latest authorities, the number of deaths after the major earthquake in Afghanistan rose to more than 1,000 on Saturday morning. The magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck on Saturday and was located 40 kilometers northwest of Herat, the largest city in the region.
The number of people killed in the earthquake is “more than 1,000,” Taliban government deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi said on Sunday.
Recently there was talk of at least 100 deaths from the earthquake. The UN emergency aid agency OCHA already assumed that the number of victims would rise because many people were trapped under collapsed buildings. Afghanistan’s Civil Protection Agency had also expressed concern about hundreds of possible deaths.
Seven villages completely destroyed
Seven villages in the hard-hit border province of Herat were completely destroyed, a spokesman for the national disaster response told the German news agency on Saturday. According to the WHO, a total of about 4,200 people were affected by the earthquake disaster and at least 600 houses were destroyed.
The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported on internet platform X (formerly Twitter) that at least 300 injured people were treated in the hospital in the provincial city of Herat in the first hours. Doctors Without Borders set up additional tents there immediately after the earthquake.
The UN Secretary General calls for support
UN Secretary-General António Guterres was shocked and offered his condolences to the families of the victims, as UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York. Guterres called on the international community to support the Afghan people affected by the earthquake, especially in view of the coming winter.
Well-connected Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwari shared videos of the rescue efforts on the X platform, formerly Twitter. The photos showed houses that were completely in ruins. “The tranquil beauty of Herat has been devastated by a brutal earthquake that has left entire villages in ruins,” Sarwari wrote.
At least eight earthquakes on Saturday
On Saturday morning, at least eight earthquakes shook the border area near Iran in a short period of time. The American earthquake monitoring station USGS estimated the magnitude at values between 4.6 and 6.3. The tremors occurred in the morning northwest of the Afghan border city of Herat, at a shallow depth of about ten kilometers.
The earthquakes were also felt in neighboring Iran. Residents of Iran’s Mashhad metropolis, some 300 kilometers from the quake zone, said the walls of houses were shaking. According to Iranian state media, teams were sent to border areas to inspect possible damage.
Serious earthquakes occur again and again in the region where the Arabian, Indian and Eurasian plates meet. A devastating earthquake in Afghanistan in 2022 killed more than a thousand people. After decades of conflict, many houses are poorly built. Earthquakes often cause major damage.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
