The death toll from a 6.3 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks in western Afghanistan has risen to more than 2,000 with about 10,000 people injured, according to the nation’s State Ministry for Disaster Management.
(Bloomberg) — The death toll from a 6.3 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks in western Afghanistan has risen to more than 2,000 with about 10,000 people injured, according to the nation’s State Ministry for Disaster Management.
The epicenter of the earthquake was near Herat city, according to the US Geological Survey. It was followed by strong aftershocks, including another one measuring 6.3 half an hour later, it said.
“The search and rescue operation is still ongoing,” Mullah Janan Shayeq, spokesman for the State Ministry for Disaster Management, said by phone. “People are still trapped under the rubble and they are probably dead by now. It was a quite a powerful earthquake.” The tremor struck the western provinces of Herat, Nimroz, Badghis and Farah, Shayeq said.
Earthquakes in Afghanistan and its surrounding regions are common due to interaction between the Arabia, Eurasia and India plates, according to the USGS. Since 1920, seven other earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger have occurred within 250 km of the Oct. 7 earthquake, all within Iran, it said.
“We request the international community to help us during this difficult time and send their aid,” said Shayeq, adding that hundreds of houses were destroyed by the earthquake.
(Updates with comments and more details throughout.)
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