Two powerful earthquakes struck western Afghanistan on Saturday, leaving a trail of destruction and heartache. The Taliban government reported that more than 2,000 people lost their lives, with thousands more injured in the wake of the tremors, which were felt as far away as neighboring Iran.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the quakes, one of which measured a magnitude of 6.3, hitting approximately 35 kilometers northwest of the city of Herat.
The earthquake, along with subsequent powerful aftershocks, resulted in the tragic loss of 2,053 lives, and left 9,240 individuals injured, according to a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority.
According to the World Health Organization, the impact of the tragedy was especially severe for many communities in the Herat province, where some 600 homes were entirely destroyed. The Taliban regime has urgently appealed for help as more innocent citizens are now buried beneath the rubble.
“We ask our wealthy compatriots to give any possible cooperation and help to our afflicted brothers,” the Taliban stated on social media platform X.
In recent years, Afghanistan has had a number of severe earthquakes, including a devastating 5.9-magnitude quake in June 2022 that killed over 1,000 people and injured over 1,500 more. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that shook the province of Badakhshan most recently claimed at least 13 lives.
Afghanistan was already facing a severe humanitarian catastrophe, which had been made worse by recent floods and political unrest. The director of the International Rescue Committee for Afghanistan, Salma Ben Assia, stated that 29 million people in the nation already urgently require humanitarian aid.
Authorities believe that as search and rescue operations go on, the number of fatalities will increase, making the tragedy even worse. Despite the fact that Afghanistan, which is located at the meeting point of the Arabian, Indian, and Eurasian tectonic plates, has seen its fair share of earthquakes, this one is among the most catastrophic to have rocked the country in recent years.