More than 2,000 people feared dead after powerful earthquake hit Afghanistan – Taliban government

Many people may have died after a strong earthquake happened in western Afghanistan, close to Iran.

As more information is received from rural areas, the number of people who have died is expected to increase. The Taliban, a government group, believes that the death toll could be greater than 2,000.

The strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6. 3 caused a lot of destruction and damage to at least 12 villages near the city of Herat on Saturday.

There were strong tremors after the main earthquake. People who survived the event were very scared because buildings were falling down all around them.

Rescue teams worked all night to search for people who were trapped under the collapsed buildings.

Many people got hurt. In a country with very limited and insufficient medical resources, hospitals are having a difficult time treating the injured. The UN and other organizations have started quickly bringing in urgent supplies.

The earthquake happened on Saturday at around 11:00 local time (06:30 GMT). It hit about 40km (25 miles) northwest of Herat.

The communities that are suffering the most are located far away and their houses are made of mud. “In the beginning, when the earthquake happened, all the houses fell down,” said Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Herat whose family lives in one of the villages, to AFP news agency.

“He said that the people who were in the houses got buried. ” We haven’t heard anything about some families.

The Taliban minister in charge of public health is going to Herat to see how much damage has been done. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that at least 465 homes had been completely destroyed.
Videos from Herat Central Hospital showed injured people connected to IV drips being treated outside the main building. This indicates a sudden and overwhelming need for emergency care.

Other pictures show the destruction in Injil district of Herat, where debris has blocked roads, making it difficult for rescue teams to reach the affected areas.

“The situation was really bad, and I have never experienced anything like it,” said student Idrees Arsala to AFP. He was the last person to leave his classroom safely after the earthquakes started.

The city of Herat is about 120km (75 miles) away from the border of Iran. It is known as the cultural capital of Afghanistan. About 19 million people are thought to live in the province.

Afghanistan often experiences earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountains area because it is close to where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.

Last year in June, there was a very big earthquake in the province of Paktika. It was a 5. 9 magnitude earthquake and it caused more than 1,000 people to die. It also made tens of thousands of people lose their homes and become homeless.