(RepublicanDaily.org) – Afghanistan, one of the most earthquake prone countries in the world, saw a recent quake claim more than 2,400 lives, marking one of the most devastating quakes the country has seen in recent years.
According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the quake registered at a magnitude of 6.3, with the epicenter located 20 miles northwest of the city of Herat. The city’s 600-bed hospital quickly filled up to capacity following the natural disaster, and officials scrambled to put up makeshift hospitals and health centers to house thousands of other victims seeking medical treatment.
Officials from the Taliban, which had taken over the region following the exit of U.S. forces in 2021, said that current fatalities stood at 2,445, while number of injured was revised to more than 2,000, significantly lower than the earlier estimate of more than 9,000. More than 1,300 residential structures were also damaged by the tremors.
In a press conference, the country’s spokesperson for the Ministry of Disasters, Janan Sayeeq, told members of the press that several rescue teams were already in place to retrieve bodies and search for any possible survivors. Much of the areas most devastated by the earthquake lie in an area close to Afghanistan’s border with Iran, which actually complicate rescuers’ efforts due to the fact that many of these areas are remote and hard to reach. Officials say that a total of eighteen villages located in the Zindah Jan and Ghoryan districts have been reduced to rubble as a result of the tremors.
Taliban officials have also acknowledged that they need help from the international community due to the scope of the damage.
“We call on all international aid groups to help us at this time,” said a Taliban official. Survivors, who were poor to begin with, were left with virtually nothing, and all need food, shelter, and clothing, along with other basic necessities like medicine.
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