KABUL – A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan’s western province of Herat on Wednesday, claiming at least one life and causing panic among residents already traumatised by a series of tremors that killed around 2,000 people last Saturday.
The dawn quake hit around 30km north of the provincial capital of Herat, where thousands were spending a fourth night in the open after Saturday’s quakes flattened their villages.
“It’s horrible. The whole of Herat is terrified,” said 32-year-old Abdul Qudos. “We are so scared that even when we see trees moving (in the wind), we think it’s another earthquake coming.”
At least one person was killed and 120 injured in the latest quake, said Mr Abdul Zahir Noorzai, an ambulance manager for Herat Regional Hospital.
“The people in these (rural) areas were living outside their homes which were already destroyed”, but were hit by fresh falling debris from unstable ruins, he said.
The quake was followed by aftershocks measuring 5.0 and 4.1, but an AFP reporter said damage in Herat city – home to more than half a million – was minimal.
Many residents have been camping in tents, cars and gardens since Saturday’s 6.3-magnitude quake and a series of powerful aftershocks.
“Our children are so scared that they stay awake until morning. They don’t sleep,” said 40-year-old Aziz Ahmad.
At Herat Regional Hospital, patients were being treated in an outdoor courtyard. Ambulances were arriving on Wednesday morning, but most people’s injuries appeared to be minor.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by deadly earthquakes, but the weekend disaster is the worst to strike the war-ravaged country in more than 25 years.
Relief and rescue efforts after Saturday’s earthquakes have been hampered by infrastructure left crumbling by decades of war and lack of foreign aid, which once formed the backbone of the economy but has since dried up since the Taliban took over.
Afghanistan’s healthcare system, largely reliant on foreign aid, has also faced crippling cuts.
Volunteers have been digging for survivors and bodies from the earlier quakes, which totally destroyed at least six villages in rural Zenda Jan district and affected more than 12,000 people, according to the United Nations.
Local and national officials have given conflicting counts of the number of dead and injured. The Disaster Management Ministry said 2,053 people have died.
“We can’t give exact numbers for the dead and wounded as it is in flux,” said ministry spokesman Mullah Janan Sayeq.
Providing shelter on a large scale will be a challenge for Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, who seized power in August 2021 and have fractious relations with international aid organisations.
“Not a single house is left, not even a room where we could stay at night,” said 40-year-old Mohammad Naeem. He said he lost 12 relatives, including his mother, after Saturday’s earthquakes.
“We can’t live here anymore... our family got martyred here. How could we live here?” AFP, REUTERS
