Kabul:
A powerful earthquake struck Afghanistan’s western province of Herat on Wednesday, prompting authorities to redeploy relief and rescue teams already in the field after a series of deadly earthquakes on Saturday.
Disaster management spokesman Janan Sayek told Reuters there were no immediate reports of casualties, but provincial officials said hundreds of homes had been destroyed.
Herat’s governor’s office said some areas had suffered “heavy damage”, without giving details.
“Mobile medical teams and officers working together have transported many injured people to hospitals,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
🚨Breaking: #Afghanistan Another earthquake of 6.3 magnitude struck this morning, shaking parts of the western region like never before #heratearthquake More than 2000 people were killed.
WFP is providing emergency food assistance to affected communities. pic.twitter.com/xOpLEuFTWp
– World Food Program in Afghanistan (@WFP_Afghanistan) 11 October 2023
The Taliban-run government said Saturday’s tremors killed at least 2,400 people and injured more than 2,000, making the quake one of the deadliest in the world so far this year.
The World Health Organization said most of the casualties in that earthquake were women and children.
Reading Thousands of Afghans left out in the cold after deadly earthquakes
The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said the latest quake had a magnitude of 6.3 and occurred at a depth of 10 km (6.21 mi).
Surrounded by mountains, Afghanistan has a history of powerful earthquakes, many of which have occurred in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan. Herat province borders Iran, which has said it would send humanitarian aid.
Governor Nur Ahmad Shahab said at least 200 houses were partially or completely destroyed in the central district of Rubat Sangi, which was struck by Saturday’s earthquake, adding that residents had suffered “huge financial losses.”
No casualties have been reported so far, he said, as many villagers were already sleeping out in the open or in tents after the first earthquake.
Read more Search for survivors continues in earthquake-hit northwest Afghanistan
“People need immediate assistance,” Shahab said. He said survivors were falling ill because of the cold autumn weather.
Relief and rescue efforts after Saturday’s earthquake have been hampered by crumbling infrastructure caused by decades of war and a lack of foreign aid, which was once the backbone of the economy but has dried up since the Taliban took over .
Afghanistan’s healthcare system, which is largely dependent on foreign aid, has also suffered severe cutbacks.
The EU said it would provide 2.5 million euros ($2.65 million) to humanitarian partners working to provide relief, which is in addition to the 89 million euros of humanitarian aid already allocated in 2023.
It also offered shelter kits, winter tents and hygiene kits, among other relief supplies.
Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and China have already pledged to send food, blankets, medicines, tents and money. The United Nations humanitarian office has also announced $5 million in assistance.
