The deadliest earthquakes to hit the earthquake-prone mountainous nation in years claimed more than 2,400 lives in Afghanistan, according to the Taliban government on Sunday.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), one of the earthquakes that occurred on Saturday in the country’s west struck 35 km (20 miles) northwest of the city of Herat and had a magnitude of 6.3.
They were among the deadliest earthquakes in the globe this year, following the estimated 50,000 deaths from tremors in Turkey and Syria in February.
The Ministry of Disasters’ spokesman, Janan Sayeeq, told Reuters in a message that the death toll had increased to 2,445 but that the number of injured had decreased to “more than 2,000.” He had earlier stated that there had been 9,240 injuries.
Sayeeq added that 1,320 homes have been demolished or damaged. The number of fatalities increased from 500 as the Red Crescent indicated on Sunday. Sayeeq revealed during a press conference that ten rescue teams were in the region, which borders Iran.
According to Dr Danish, a representative of the Herat health department, more than 200 bodies had been transported to various hospitals, and most of them were women and children. According to Danish, bodies had been “taken to several places- military bases and hospitals.”
In Herat, beds were arranged outside the main hospital to accommodate the influx of victims, as evidenced by photographs shared on social media. There was an urgent need for food, water, medication, clothing, and tents for rescue and relief. Taliban political office chief in Qatar Suhail Shaheen said.
Images posted to social media showed cracks and missing tiles on the Herat’s mediaeval minarets, indicating some damage.
Strong earthquakes have historically struck Afghanistan, which is surrounded by mountains, many of them in the untamed Hindu Kush region that borders Pakistan.
Information from farther-flung regions of a nation, where decades of war have left infrastructure in ruins and relief and rescue activities challenging to manage, frequently leads to higher death counts.
In the two years since the Taliban gained control, Afghanistan’s healthcare system, which was almost totally dependent on foreign funding, has been severely slashed, and much of the aid, which had served as the economy’s bedrock, was stopped.
According to diplomats and charity workers, donors are cutting back on financial help due to worries about Taliban restrictions on women and competing worldwide humanitarian problems. The majority of Afghan women working in the humanitarian sector are not allowed to work, however there are some exceptions in the health and education sectors.
A representative for the International Committee of the Red Cross stated in August that due to budgetary difficulties, it was likely to stop providing financial support for 25 Afghan hospitals. It was unclear right away if the Herat hospital was included in that list.
According to Naseema, a local of Herat, the earthquakes caused fear. “People left their houses, we all are on the streets,” she added that the city was experiencing aftershocks in a text message sent to Reuters on Saturday.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated in a report on Sunday that there are 202 public health facilities in the province of Herat, one of which being the primary regional hospital where 500 casualties had been transferred.
The vast majority of the facilities are tiny basic health units, and the WHO reported that logistical difficulties were impeding operations, especially in outlying locations. “While search and rescue operations remain ongoing, casualties in these areas have not yet been fully identified,” it said.
