In one of the deadliest earthquake in decades in Afghanistan, at least 2200 people lost their lives whereas 3600 sustained injuries.
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck southeastern Afghanistan on Thursday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences said, the third tremor in the same region since Sunday, when one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades killed more than 2,200 people.
The tremor, at a depth of 10km (six miles), followed the earlier quakes that flattened villages in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, left tens of thousands homeless and injured more than 3,600 people.
Survivors have been left without shelter as aid groups warn of dwindling resources, with the United Nations and other agencies citing a critical need for food, medical supplies and shelter.
Rescue workers on Thursday pulled bodies from the rubble of homes razed in Afghanistan’s earthquakes as the confirmed death toll topped 2,200, while homeless survivors faced a bleak future with global aid agencies warning of dwindling resources.
Search operations continued in the quake-hit mountainous eastern areas, the Taliban administration said, announcing a new death toll of 2,205 with at least 3,640 people injured.
“Everything we had has been destroyed,” said Aalem Jan, whose house in the worst-affected province of Kunar was flattened by the tremors.
“The only remaining things are these clothes on our backs,” said Jan. His family sat under trees with their belongings piled next to them.
The first earthquake of magnitude 6, one of Afghanistan’s deadliest in recent years, unleashed widespread damage and destruction in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar on Sunday, when it struck at a shallow depth of 10km.
A second quake of magnitude 5.5 on Tuesday caused panic and interrupted rescue efforts as it sent rocks sliding down mountains and cut off roads to villages in remote areas.
More than 6,700 homes have been destroyed, authorities have said. The United Nations has warned the toll could rise with people still trapped under rubble as time runs out for survivors.
Humanitarian needs are “vast and growing rapidly”, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
“Up to 84,000 people are directly and indirectly affected, with thousands displaced,” it added, citing initial figures.
Earlier, The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) dispatched five trucks loaded with 105 tons of essential relief supplies to earthquake-affected regions of Afghanistan.
Each truck carried a 40-foot container packed with critical humanitarian aid, including ration bags, tents, blankets, sleeping mats and medicines. The convoy crossed into Afghanistan via the Torkham border, aiming to provide immediate support to communities devastated by the recent seismic activity.
A departure ceremony was held at the NDMA warehouse in Islamabad, with the Minister of State for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Kesoo Mal Kheal Das Kohistani, as the chief guest. The event was also attended by senior officials from the National Disaster Management Authority and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Pakistan dispatched essential relief supplies to support earthquake-affected communities in Afghanistan on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Also read: Pakistan dispatches 105 tons of aid to earthquake-hit Afghanistan
