Afghanistan Earthquake Kills 1,400, Injures 3,000 As Search For Survivors Continues

The rescue teams continued to travel Tuesday, the mountainous of Afghanistan for the survivors while the death review of a strong earthquake increased to 1,400 with more than 3,000 people injured, said an official.

“The wounded are evacuated, so these figures can change considerably,” Afghanistan spokesperson told the Associated Press. “The earthquake has caused landslides in certain regions, blocking the roads, but they have been reopened, and the remaining roads will be reopened to allow access to areas that are difficult to reach.”

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The magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck late Sunday evening in several provinces, flattening the villages and leaving people trapped under the rubble of houses built mainly in mud and wooden bricks and unable to resist the shock.

The majority of victims were in the province of Kunar, where many people live in steep river valleys separated by high mountains. Helicopters are used to evacuate hospitals wounded, and assistance agencies said their teams were traveling on foot to reach the most isolated areas due to the rugged terrain and ruined roads.

The Taliban government has requested international aid.

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The United Kingdom has promised 1 million sterling pounds ($ 1.3 million) in emergency funding to be divided between humanitarian agencies rather than the Taliban government, which the United Kingdom does not recognize.

Other governments, including China, have offered help for help in the event of a disaster.

This is the third major earthquake since the Taliban took power in 2021, and the last crisis to assault Afghanistan, which is in shock from the deep cuts to help funding, a weak economy and millions of people who have returned from Iran and Pakistan.

Mark Calder, director of plea at the World Vision Afghanistan Aid Agency, warned more than 250,000 people “inflating the ranks” of those who need help to access the needs and basic services if the resources were not available.

“This will mean more appropriate homeless people, access to nutritious foods to feed their families, their own water and by malnutrition and disease in a context where the health system simply cannot stretch,” said Calder.

The houses collapsed and people shouted for help

East Afghanistan is mountainous, with remote areas. The earthquake has worsened communications. Dozens of flights operated in and outside the Nangarhar airport, transporting the injured to the hospital.

A survivor described by seeing houses collapse before his eyes and people who howl to help.

Sadiqullah, who lives in the Maza Dara region in Nurgal, said that he had been awakened by a deep boom who looked like a storm that was approaching. Like many Afghans, it only uses one name.

He ran to the place where his children slept and saved three of them. He was about to come back to catch the rest of his family when the room fell on him.

“I was half buried and unable to go out,” he told the Associated Press by phone from Nangarhar Hospital. “My wife and two sons died, and my father is injured and in the hospital with me. We were trapped for three to four hours until people from other regions arrive and withdraw me.”

It was the impression that the whole mountain was shaking, he said.

Tremmers felt in neighboring Pakistan

Sunday evening’s earthquake was felt in parts of Pakistan, including the capital, Islamabad. There was no report of victims or damage.

The Afghan City of Jalalabad, close to Pakistan, is a lively shopping center and a key border crossing. Although it has a population of around 300,000 inhabitants according to the municipality, its metropolitan area would be much greater.

Jalalabad also has considerable agriculture, including the culture of citrus and rice, the Kabul river crossing the city.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 hit Afghanistan on October 7, 2023, followed by high aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated that at least 4,000 people have perished in this earthquake.

The UN gave a much lower assessment of about 1,500. It was the deadliest natural disaster of hitting Afghanistan in recent memory.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was deeply saddened by events in Afghanistan. “Our hearts go to the victims and their families. We are ready to extend any possible support in this regard,” he said on the social platform X.

Pakistan has expelled thousands of Afghans in the past year, many of whom live legally in the country after having escaped Afghanistan as refugees in the past four decades.

At least 1.2 million Afghans have been forced to return to Afghanistan of Iran and Pakistan so far this year, according to a June report from UNHCR.