More than 2000 died after 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck western Afghanistan 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Powerful earthquakes that struck western Afghanistan on Saturday have killed more than 2,000 people and injured more than 9,000, the Taliban administration said on Sunday.

The Taliban's death toll from the tremors that struck near the city of Herat is far higher than reported earlier. The Red Crescent said on Sunday that 500 people had died.

The US Geological Survey said a series of earthquakes hit 35 kilometres north-west of the city of Herat, with one measuring 6.3 magnitude.

Mullah Janan Sayeeq, spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Disasters, told Reuters that 2,053 people were dead, 9,240 injured and 1,329 houses damaged or destroyed.

More than 200 dead had been brought to different hospitals, according to a Herat health department official who identified himself as Dr Danish.

He said the bodies had been “taken to several places – military bases, hospitals”, and that most of them were women and children.

The UN late on Saturday gave a preliminary figure of 320 dead, but later said the figure was being verified.

“Partners and local authorities anticipate the number of casualties to increase as search and rescue efforts continue amid reports that some people may be trapped under collapsed buildings,” it said.

The World Health Organisation in Afghanistan said it sent 12 ambulances to the Zenda Jan district that bore the brunt of the tremors.

Abdul Wahid Rayan, spokesman at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said about six villages have been destroyed, and hundreds of civilians were buried by debris.

The earthquakes cut off telephone connections in Herat, making it hard to get details from affected areas. Videos on social media showed hundreds of people in the streets outside their homes and offices in Herat city.

The quakes were also felt in the nearby Afghan provinces of Farah and Badghis, according to local media reports.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, expressed his condolences to the dead and injured in Herat and Badghis.

The Taliban urged local organisations to reach earthquake-hit areas as soon as possible to help take the injured to hospital, provide shelter for the homeless, and deliver food to survivors. They said security agencies should use all their resources and facilities to rescue people trapped under debris.

“We ask our wealthy compatriots to give any possible co-operation and help to our afflicted brothers,” the Taliban said on X.

In June 2022, an earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, flattening stone and mud-brick homes. The quake killed at least 1,000 people and injured about 1,500.