Janan Sayeq, spokesman for the Taliban’s Disaster Ministry, said the earthquakes claimed the lives of 2,053 people, injured 9,240 others, and destroyed or damaged 1,320 homes. The death toll jumped from the 500 people announced by the Red Crescent on Sunday morning.
He added, in a press conference, that ten rescue teams are present in the region bordering Iran.
The US Geological Survey said that the epicenter of the earthquakes that struck the west of the country yesterday, Saturday, was 35 kilometers northwest of the city of Herat, and one of them reached a magnitude of 6.3.
These earthquakes are among the most fatal earthquakes in the world this year.
An official in the health authority in Herat, who identified himself as Doctor Danish, said that more than 200 bodies arrived at various hospitals. He added that most of them are women and children.
He stated that the bodies “were transferred to several locations… military bases and hospitals.”
Pictures published on social media showed that beds were being prepared outside the main hospital in Herat to receive this large number of victims.
Other pictures showed damaged minarets dating back to the Middle Ages in Herat, with some cracks appearing in them.
Afghanistan has a history of strong earthquakes, many of which occurred in the rugged Hindu Kush region on the border with Pakistan.
The death toll often rises when reports come from remote areas in a country whose infrastructure has been devastated by decades-long conflicts and the difficulty of organizing relief and rescue operations.
Allocations directed to Afghanistan’s health care system have decreased significantly in the past two years since the Taliban took power, and much of the international aid that formed the backbone of the economy has also stopped. Afghanistan depends almost entirely on foreign aid.
Diplomats and aid officials say concerns about Taliban restrictions on women and global humanitarian crises are pushing donors back from providing financial support to Afghanistan.
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