KABUL: More than 2,000 people are feared dead after a series of powerful earthquakes hit western Afghanistan over the weekend, Taliban authorities said on Sunday.
A magnitude 6.3 quake struck about 40 km northwest of the city of Herat on Saturday, followed by strong aftershocks that were felt in the neighboring provinces of Badghis and Farah.
The tremors devastated at least 12 villages, with the death toll estimated at 2,053 as of Sunday afternoon, said Janan Sayeeq, spokesperson for the Afghanistan Disaster Management Authority.
About 1,200 people were injured and more than 1,300 houses destroyed in the quakes, as the government dispatched rescue teams.
“The majority of people are still under their destroyed houses,” Sayeeq told Arab News. “Operations to rescue the victims are underway.”
Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesperson based in Qatar, reported the same numbers.
The death toll spiked from the 500 reported earlier by the Afghan Red Crescent Society, which said it expected the numbers to climb as authorities and aid officials try to reach the most affected areas.
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said that 80 percent of Herat residents had been displaced by the quakes. An estimated 1.9 million people are believed to live in the province.
The World Health Organization’s unit in Afghanistan said on Saturday it had sent 12 ambulances to hard-hit districts in Herat to help evacuate casualties but warned that “logistic challenges are hindering operations.”
Most houses remain fragile, it added, as they are made from mud and stones.
Saturday’s quake is the second major tremor to hit Afghanistan in just over a year. A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit the southeast of the country in June 2022, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring 1,600 others.
