KABUL: The interim government in Afghanistan said on Sunday that more than 2,400 people were killed in quakes in the country.
The US Geological Survey said that the Saturday earthquake in the western Afghanistan struck 35 km northwest of Herat, with one of 6.3 magnitude. Reuters reported that the quakes were among the global lethal quakes in the current year, following tremors in Syria and Turkey killed around 50,000 in February.
Afghanistan Quake Death Toll Rises to Over 2400
Janan Sayeeq, spokesperson for the Ministry of Disasters, said that the toll had increased to 2,445 dead. He added that over 2,000 people were wounded in the deadly quakes in Afghanistan. Earlier, Janan Sayeeq said that 9,240 people were wounded in the earthquake. He maintained that 1,320 houses had been destroyed.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said on Sunday that Search and Rescue Teams would be dispatched on urgent basis to quake-hit Herat in Afghanistan. In a statement via social media, the NDMA said that it has also arranged relief items like medicines, food, blankets and tents to assist the quake-affected people in Afghanistan.
Read Also: KSA Expresses Deep Sorrow for Quake-hit People in Afghanistan
The statement added that these reliefs items would be sent to Afghanistan on priority basis. According to the NDMA, this was briefed at a special meeting of the National Emergency Operations Centre held in Islamabad on Sunday with Chairman NDMA Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik in the chair.
Similarly, UN chief Antonio Guterres is “deeply saddened” by the heavy loss of life resulting from Saturday’s lethal quake in Herat, Afghanistan, his spokesperson said. Antonio Guterres expressed solidarity with the families of the victims and also extended his condolences to the relatives of quake-hit people in Afghanistan. In a statement, the UN Secretary General Spokesperson said that the UN and its partners are working with the rulers in Afghanistan to swiftly assess needs and provide emergency help to them. The UN chief asked the international community to help the quake-hit people in Afghanistan.
