KABUL, Afghanistan — A robust 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan earlier than daybreak Monday, killing a minimum of 20 folks and injuring greater than 640 others, in addition to damaging the historic Blue Mosque, officers mentioned.
The numbers of individuals killed or injured might rise, officers mentioned.
Within the city of Khulm, close to the epicenter, folks dug by way of the rubble of collapsed mud brick properties with shovels and picked by way of particles to salvage what belongings they may.
Native resident Ahmad Zia mentioned the air was polluted from all of the mud that rose from the ruins of homes. “We pulled the our bodies of two folks from the rubble, and their funerals will likely be held at present,” he mentioned.
Footage on social media from Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, confirmed a number of bricks had fallen from the partitions of the Blue Mosque however the construction remained intact. The centuries-old website, one among Afghanistan’s most revered non secular landmarks, is a serious gathering place throughout Islamic and cultural festivals.
The impoverished nation typically faces problem in responding to such pure disasters, particularly in distant areas. Buildings are usually low-rise constructions, principally of concrete and brick, with properties in rural and outlying areas created from mud bricks and wooden, many poorly constructed.
In August, a quake in jap Afghanistan killed greater than 2,200 folks.
The U.S. Geological Survey mentioned the quake’s epicenter was situated 22 kilometers (14 miles) west-southwest of the city of Khulm, and that it struck at 12:59 a.m. at a depth of 28 kilometers (17 miles).
The deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Authority, Qari Taj Mohammad Hemat, mentioned the earthquake had struck Balkh, Samangan, Sar-e-Pul, and Kunduz provinces and had left 20 folks useless and 643 others injured, of whom 25 have been in crucial situation.
Earlier, Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Well being, mentioned the useless and greater than 500 of the injured had been dropped at hospitals in Balkh and Samangan provinces. Rescuers have been on the scene and the figures have been altering, he added.
Within the close by province of Badakhshan, the quake partially or utterly destroyed 800 homes in a single village within the Shahr-e-Bozorg district, mentioned Ihsanullah Kamgar, spokesperson for the provincial police headquarters. However with a scarcity of web within the distant space, there have been nonetheless no correct casualty figures, he added.
Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s catastrophe administration company, mentioned many of the injured suffered minor wounds and have been discharged after therapy.
One other resident of Khulm, Abdul Mubin, mentioned he had been sleeping in his store when the earthquake struck. “I noticed that every part was destroyed. Individuals had suffered a number of monetary losses,” he mentioned. “Many individuals’s homes have been destroyed and their family items have been underneath the rubble.”
The Ministry of Protection introduced that rescue and emergency groups had reached the quake areas in Balkh and Samangan, which suffered probably the most injury. The groups have been transporting the injured and aiding others, it mentioned.
The Taliban authorities’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, posted on X that authorities organizations have been working to get the assistance wanted.
The quake was additionally felt within the capital, Kabul, and several other different provinces. The Protection Ministry mentioned a rockslide briefly blocked a essential mountain freeway linking Kabul with Mazar-e-Sharif, however the highway was later reopened. It mentioned some individuals who have been injured and trapped alongside the freeway have been transported to the hospital.
In Islamabad, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his deep sorrow and grief over the lack of lives. In an announcement, he provided condolences to the households of the victims, prayed for the swift restoration of the injured, and mentioned that Pakistan stands with the Afghan folks on this tough time.
His assertion got here as the 2 international locations have been engaged in rounds of peace talks amid heightened rigidity after lethal clashes on the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan left dozens of troopers and civilians useless on either side. Pakistan accuses the Taliban authorities of sheltering members of the Pakistani Taliban and failing to curb cross-border assaults. Afghan officers reject the allegations, saying they search good relations. One other spherical of peace talks is scheduled for this week in Istanbul, Turkey.
The United Nations in Afghanistan mentioned on X that its groups have been on the bottom assessing wants and delivering pressing assist.
“We stand with the affected communities and can present the required assist,” the publish mentioned.
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit jap Afghanistan on Aug. 31 close to the border with Pakistan, killing greater than 2,200 folks. On Oct. 7, 2023, a magnitude 6.3 quake adopted by robust aftershocks left a minimum of 4,000 folks useless, based on the Taliban authorities.
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Related Press author Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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