Around 100 people were killed and nearly 1,000 injured after two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes struck western Afghanistan on Saturday, according to reports and the United Nations.
The death toll was reiterated by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The epicenter of the quake, which occurred around noon local time, was about 40 kilometers northwest of the city of Herat, near the border with Iran. An aftershock caused 5.5 magnitude tremors.
Images and videos of razed villages, mud houses reduced to rubble and blankets draped over the dead were shared on social media as residents took to the streets in the aftermath of the disaster and makeshift hospitals were set up.
“All the people are out of their homes,” said Abdul Shakor Samadi, a resident of the city of Herat.
“Houses, offices and shops are empty and there are fears of more earthquakes. “My family and I were inside our house, I felt the earthquake.”
Afghan men mourn near the bodies of those killed in the earthquakes that devastated the western part of the country on Saturday. AFP via Getty Images Afghan residents clear debris from a damaged house after Saturday’s earthquakes. AFP via Getty Images Images and videos shared on social media showed razed villages, mud houses reduced to rubble, makeshift hospitals and blankets spread over the dead following earthquakes in Afghanistan’s Herat province. AFP via Getty Images
The World Health Organization said it sent 12 ambulances to the city of Zinda Jan to evacuate victims.
“As deaths and casualties from the earthquake continue to be reported, teams are in hospitals helping to treat the injured and assess additional needs,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“WHO-supported ambulances are transporting those affected, most of them women and children.”
In June 2022, a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring about 1,500.
With postal cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn