15 dead, 40 hurt as strong quake jolts Afghanistan; many buried under rubble

Two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes killed at least 15 and injured nearly 40 others in western Afghanistan on Saturday, said a spokesperson for the country’s national disaster authority.

Mohammad Abdullah Jan said four villages in the Zenda Jan district in Herat bore the brunt of the quakes and aftershocks. Dozens of houses have been damaged. The death toll could go up, as many people are reportedly buried under collapsed buildings.

“These are the numbers that have been brought to the central hospital so far but this is not the final figure,” Herat public health head Mohammad Taleb Shahid told AFP. “We have information that people are buried under rubble.”

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the 6.3 magnitude tremblors. It said the epicentre was 40 kilometres (24.8 miles) northwest of Herat city. There was an aftershock with a 5.5 magnitude. A map on the USGS website indicates seven earthquakes in the area. At least five powerful earthquakes struck the city around noon, Herat city resident Abdul Shakor Samadi said.

Panic grips Herat

“All people are out of their homes,” Samadi said. “Houses, offices and shops are all empty and there are fears of more earthquakes. My family and I were inside our home, I felt the quake.” His family began shouting and ran outside, afraid to return indoors.

Telephone connections went down, 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.

Herat province borders Iran. The quake also was felt in the nearby provinces of Farah and Badghis, according to local media reports.

Hundreds of fatalities were possible, a USGS preliminary report said. “Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response,” it said.

“We were in our offices and suddenly the building started shaking,” 45-year-old Herat resident Bashir Ahmad told AFP. “Wall plasters started to fall down and the walls got cracks. Some walls and parts of the building collapsed,” he said.

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

In June 2022, a powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, flattening stone and mud-brick homes.

The quake was Afghanistan’s deadliest in two decades, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring about 1,500. Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

(With agency inputs)