(MENAFN- AzerNews) The death toll from Saturday's massive earthquake that hit the
northwestern part of Afghanistan has shot up to 2,000 with nearly
10,000 injured as rescue workers scrambled to pull out an unknown
number of people trapped under rubble, officials and local media
reported.
Afghanistan Disaster Management Authority said that some 2,053
deaths have been confirmed, while 9,249 People are injured. More
than 1,300 houses have been partially or fully destroyed in the
earthquake.
State-run Bakhtar News Agency, citing Afghan Red Cresent,
reported that some 12 villages in the Zinda Jan and Ghorian
districts of Herat province – home to 1.9 million people – have
been "completely destroyed."
Rescue teams along with local men are struggling to pull out the
dead and injured trapped under the razed houses.
On Saturday, Afghanistan Disaster Management Authority's
spokesman Mullah Janan Saiq said the death toll could further rise,
adding that the tremors caused heavy damage in northwestern Herat
and Badghis provinces.
"Three villages in Herat province were completely destroyed, and
hundreds of people are still trapped under the debris," Saiq told
Anadolu over the phone.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), strong earthquakes
of magnitude 5.5, 5.9, and 6.2 jolted the Afghan provinces. It said
the epicenter was 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) northwest of Herat
city.
The World Health Organization's Afghanistan office said its
teams were in hospitals assisting treatment of wounded and
assessing additional needs.
The war-torn country is currently grappling with a humanitarian
crisis on the heels of the withdrawal of aid by foreign countries
and organizations since the Taliban re-captured Kabul two years
ago.
Afghanistan is frequently struck by tremors, mainly in the
Hindukush mountain range, which sits near the confluence of
Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake in June last year killed over 1,000
people and left tens of thousands homeless in the Paktika
province.
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