More than 800 dead after devastating earthquake in Afghanistan, entire villages destroyed – UPDATE
A powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border shortly after midnight on Sunday, killing more than 600 people and injuring at least 1,500. Officials warn that the death toll may continue to rise as rescue operations are still underway. Entire villages were reduced to rubble, and emergency teams are searching through the debris for survivors.
Villages buried under rubble
According to Reuters, the 6.0-magnitude quake had its epicentre in the mountainous Kunar province at a depth of around 10 kilometres. The tremor was felt as far away as Kabul, some 200 kilometres from the epicentre, and even in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, 400 kilometres away.
The Taliban government reported that several settlements were completely wiped out. Most houses in the affected area were built from mud and stone, leaving them unable to withstand the force of the quake. In some villages, nearly every building collapsed. Rescue efforts are complicated by the region’s difficult terrain and limited mobile phone coverage.
As of Monday morning, 9 AM CEST, the official death toll stood at 622.
Rescue operations and casualties
Rescue helicopters are transporting the most seriously injured to Nangarhar Airport, from where ambulances are taking them to nearby hospitals, according to Telex. Reuters footage shows soldiers and local residents carrying the wounded from the ruins to waiting vehicles.
The government said all available civilian and military forces have been mobilised for disaster response. Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, warned that casualty figures are likely to increase, as many remote villages have not yet been reached by rescue teams.
Afghanistan’s vulnerability
Due to its geographic position, Afghanistan is particularly prone to natural disasters like earthquakes. The Hindu Kush region lies on the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, making tremors frequent. Last year, a series of quakes in western Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people.
UPDATE: Death toll above 800
According to a government spokesman, the death toll has risen to 812, with more than 3,000 injured, AlJazeera reports.
Featured image: screenshot, YouTube/7NEWS Australia
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