More than 2,000 people were killed and thousands were injured after two earthquakes hit western Afghanistan on Saturday, the Taliban said—hitting a country already struggling with economic turmoil and humanitarian crises following the Taliban’s takeover.
Afghan men bury the victims after an earthquake in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, of western ... [+]
The two 6.3-magnitude earthquakes struck on Saturday in western Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and hit the countries of Turkmenistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.
A spokesperson for the Taliban tweeted that 2,053 people were killed in the quake, while Janan Sayeeq from the country’s Ministry of Disasters told Reuters 9,240 people were injured and 1,320 houses damaged or destroyed.
Other outlets are reporting different death and injury tolls, with a spokesperson telling CBS over 2,400 people were killed while local officials told the New York Times the death toll was at least 800, though officials have said the number of casualties is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue and won’t be certain yet.
The World Health Organization reported there were at least eight aftershocks in the Herat Province—which was the epicenter of the quake—within five hours, including the ones with magnitudes of 5.5, 6.3 and 5.9.
Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said immediate relief efforts are underway and directed government officials to “swiftly mobilize and utilize all available resources to assist the affected citizens,” according to statement on X.
Afghanistan has seen a number of earthquakes in recent years, the deadliest of which was a 5.9-magnitude quake in June 2022 that struck parts of eastern Afghanistan, killed more than 1,000 people and injured more than 1,500 others. The most recent quake was a magnitude 6.5 that hit the province of Badakhshan and killed at least 13 people. Afghanistan has faced economic freefall since the Taliban—known for its harsh religious governance style—took over the country in August 2021 after the U.S. military ended its 20-year presence in the country. Though there are 202 public health facilities in the Herat Province, Afghanistan's healthcare system has faced many cuts in recent years following the Taliban’s takeover and the system is reliant almost entirely on foreign aid, Reuters reported.
29 million. That’s how many people were in need of humanitarian assistance before the earthquake due to recent flooding and instability in the country, according to Salma Ben Assia, the International Rescue Committee Afghanistan director.
“The earthquake has further exacerbated the situation of already vulnerable communities and the upcoming harsh winter conditions spell disaster for the welfare of those that have become displaced, especially for women and children who are most at risk of exploitation and abuse in their displacement,” Assia said in a statement.