A potent 6.3-magnitude earthquake has struck western Afghanistan, occurring just over a week after a series of strong earthquakes and aftershocks caused significant casualties and flattened entire villages in the same region.
According to the US Geological Survey, the latest earthquake had its epicenter approximately 21 miles (34km) outside Herat, the provincial capital, with a focus 5 miles beneath the surface.
Doctors Without Borders, an aid organization, reported two fatalities, and Herat regional hospital received over 100 individuals injured in Sunday’s earthquake.
Mohammad Zahir Noorzai, the head of the emergency relief team in Herat province, indicated that one person had lost their life, and nearly 150 others were injured. He also mentioned that casualty numbers might increase as they were yet to reach all affected areas.
Sayed Kazim Rafiqi, a 42-year-old resident of Herat city, described the unprecedented devastation, with most houses damaged and the population gripped by fear. In response, Rafiqi and others rushed to the hospital to donate much-needed blood.
“We have to help in any way possible,” he said.
On October 7th, a series of earthquakes decimated entire villages in Herat, constituting one of the most devastating seismic events in the country’s recent history.
UN officials disclosed that over 90% of the casualties a week ago were women and children.
Taliban representatives stated that the prior quakes resulted in more than 2,000 fatalities throughout the province. The epicenter was located in Zenda Jan district, where UN statistics indicate that 1,294 people lost their lives, 1,688 sustained injuries, and every residence was razed.
The initial earthquake, coupled with numerous aftershocks and a subsequent 6.3-magnitude quake on Wednesday, laid waste to villages, reducing hundreds of mud-brick homes to rubble. Additionally, schools, healthcare facilities, and other vital structures in the villages succumbed to the powerful forces.
Following this devastation, little remained of the villages nestled in the region’s arid hills aside from debris and the somber proceedings of funerals. Survivors are grappling with the profound loss of family members, and in many locations, those who remain are outnumbered by volunteers who have arrived to assist in sifting through the wreckage and organizing mass burials.