A magnitude 6.3 earthquake shook western Afghanistan yesterday, killing two and injuring dozens more in the same region where more than 1,000 people died in tremors last week.
After days of sleeping outside fearing aftershocks from last week’s tremors, residents in the city of Herat had just begun returning to their homes again when the quake hit just after 8am.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said two new fatalities and 154 injuries were registered at Herat Regional Hospital, where patients were being ferried on stretchers and treated outside under gazebos.
Photo: Doctors Without Borders in Afghanistan via AP
“The situation is very critical,” said Yahya Kalila, head of MSF’s Afghanistan program. “In terms of psychology, people are panicked and traumatised.”
“People are not feeling safe. I will assure you 100 percent, no one will sleep in their house,” Kalila said.
The epicenter of yesterday’s quake was 33km northwest of Herat City. It was followed by aftershocks of magnitudes 5.4 and 4.2, the US Geological Survey said.
National disaster management officials said they were still investigating the scale of destruction.
Another magnitude 6.3 quake and eight powerful aftershocks jolted the same part of Herat on Oct. 7, toppling swathes of rural homes.
The Taliban government said more than 1,000 people were killed in last week’s tremors, while the WHO put the figure at nearly 1,400 late on Saturday.
The quakes were followed by dust storms, which damaged the tents survivors were living in.
“Many of our countrymen don’t have any place to live and nights are getting colder,” shopkeeper Nizami said.
Officials yesterday said that more than 528 prisoners had been released from Herat and Badghis provinces because jails “were in danger of collapsing” from quake damage.
The Afghan Prisons Administration Authority said the freed included those who had served large portions of their sentences and showed signs of reform.
The WHO says nearly 20,000 people have been affected by the string of disasters, with women and children making up most of the fatalities.
Forty-year-old Mohammad Naeem said he had lost 12 relatives, including his mother, after last week’s quakes.
“We can’t live here anymore. You can see, our family got martyred here. How could we live here?” he asked.
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