A magnitude 5.9 earthquake near the Pakistani border in the far south-east of the country has injured more than 1,500 people.
KABUL, Afghanistan – A magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook a remote and mountainous region of southeastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan on Wednesday morning, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,100 others.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 2 miles southwest of the city of Khost, the capital of the country’s southeastern province, and had a depth of about six miles.
One thousand people have been killed and another 1,500 injured in the province, said Rais Huzaifa, director of information and culture in the eastern province. In Khost province, Shabir Ahmad Osmani, director of information and culture, said 40 people had been killed and more than 100 injured.
Paktika is one of the least populous provinces in the country and one of the poorest, with some areas inhabited by mud houses. Due to the rough terrain and small land level enough for agriculture, many people make a living in the forest, illegally cutting down trees and burning firewood.
Mohammad Almas, head of aid and appeal for Kamar, an Afghan charity active in the area, said he hoped the death toll would be higher because the affected areas were far from hospitals and because the quake struck at night when most people were sleeping indoors.
He said 17 members of the same family were killed when their house collapsed in a village; Only one child survived. Mr Pakistan Almas, on a phone call from Pakistan, said more than 25 villages, including schools, mosques and homes, had been almost completely destroyed.
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has caused a humanitarian catastrophe যা the worst earthquake in decades-at a challenging time for the Taliban-ruled country, which is currently mired in hunger and economic crisis.
An UN-backed report in May said the quake-affected about half of the population – 20 million people – facing severe hunger. This is a situation in which the Taliban seized power in August 2021, causing the United States and its allies to freeze the country’s ড 7 billion foreign reserves and cut off international funding.
The situation has crippled an economy that is already heavily dependent on aid. Following the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan last year, the World Bank released its economy in April, predicting that “a combination of declining incomes and rising prices have severely worsened the quality of life of households.”
The Taliban held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to transport the injured and provide material assistance to the victims and their families.
One Comment