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Photograph taken yesterday reveals ambulances on the street in Paktika province, Afghanistan. The dying toll from an earthquake that struck japanese Afghanistan early yesterday has reached 920, whereas greater than 600 individuals have been injured, a catastrophe official mentioned, including the variety of casualties may rise additional. — XINHUA/VNA Photograph
KABUL — A robust earthquake struck a distant border area of Afghanistan in a single day killing at the very least 1,000 individuals and injuring lots of extra, officers mentioned yesterday, with the toll anticipated to rise as determined rescuers dig by collapsed dwellings.
The 5.9 magnitude quake struck hardest within the rugged east, the place individuals already lead hardscrabble lives in a rustic within the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe made worse by the Taliban takeover in August.
“Persons are digging grave after grave,” mentioned Mohammad Amin Huzaifa, head of the Data and Tradition Division in hard-hit Paktika, including that at the very least 1,000 individuals had died in that province alone.
“It’s raining additionally, and all homes are destroyed. Persons are nonetheless trapped beneath the rubble,” he advised journalists.
The dying toll climbed steadily all day as information of casualties filtered in from hard-to-reach areas within the mountains, and the nation’s supreme chief, Hibatullah Akhundzada, warned it will probably rise additional.
Earlier, a tribal chief from Paktika mentioned survivors and rescuers have been scrambling to assist these affected.
“The native markets are closed and all of the individuals have rushed to the affected areas,” Yaqub Manzor mentioned by phone.
Pictures and video clips posted on social media confirmed scores of badly broken mud homes in distant rural areas.
Some footage confirmed native residents loading victims right into a navy helicopter.
Provides of assist
Even earlier than the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan’s emergency response groups have been stretched to cope with the pure disasters that steadily struck the nation.
However with solely a handful of airworthy planes and helicopters left because the hardline Islamists returned to energy, any instant response to the most recent disaster is additional restricted.
“The federal government is working inside its capabilities,” tweeted Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban official.
“We hope that the Worldwide Neighborhood & assist businesses will even assist our individuals on this dire state of affairs.”
The United Nations and European Union have been fast to supply help.
“Inter-agency evaluation groups have already been deployed to plenty of affected areas,” the UN Workplace for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Afghanistan tweeted.
Tomas Niklasson, EU particular envoy for Afghanistan, tweeted: “The EU is monitoring the state of affairs and stands able to coordinate and supply EU emergency help to individuals and communities affected.”
Afghanistan is steadily hit by earthquakes – particularly within the Hindu Kush mountain vary, which lies close to the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
Scores of individuals have been killed and injured in January when two quakes struck rural areas within the western province of Badghis, damaging lots of of buildings.
In 2015, greater than 380 individuals have been killed in Pakistan and Afghanistan when a 7.5-magnitude earthquake ripped throughout the 2 international locations, with the majority of the deaths in Pakistan.
From the Vatican Metropolis, Pope Francis supplied prayers for the victims of the most recent quake.
“I specific my closeness with the injured and those that have been affected,” the 85-year-old pontiff mentioned on the finish of his weekly viewers.
Assist businesses and the United Nations say Afghanistan wants billions of {dollars} this 12 months to sort out its ongoing humanitarian disaster.
Assist businesses have significantly confused the necessity for larger catastrophe preparedness in Afghanistan, which stays extraordinarily vulnerable to recurring earthquakes, floods and landslides.
The quake was felt as distant as Lahore in Pakistan, 480km from the epicentre, based on responses posted on the USGS and European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) web sites. AFP
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