Disasters & Accidents

Panic-stricken Afghans sleep outdoors as quake victims remain buried under rubble

By Almar Khplwak

Herat, Afghanistan, Oct 10 (EFE).- Thousands of horror-stricken Afghans spent another night under the open sky as aftershocks continued to rock the western Herat province, which is reeling from a devastating earthquake that authorities fear may have left over 4,500 people dead or injured.

Residents and rescue teams are racing against the clock, tirelessly digging through mounds of debris to find survivors.

On Saturday, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake and a series of aftershocks struck the province, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction that has destroyed 20 villages and affected over 12,000 people.

The de facto Taliban government has confirmed the deaths of 2,400 people due to the weekend quake. However, the authorities fear the actual toll may be even higher.

“It is difficult to know the exact number of deaths and injuries as of now,” Natural Disaster Management Ministry spokesperson Mullah Janan Sayeq told reporters on Monday night.

“Approximately, there have been more than 4,500 deaths and injuries,” said Sayeq.

He said the casualty figures changed constantly because the quake had razed several villages.

Sayeq said they were working to look for survivors and simultaneously provide relief to thousands affected in the country, which is already grappling with international sanctions following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021.

Survivors in the affected region now face the agonizing ordeal of waiting to learn the fate of their loved ones, all while striving to ensure their safety as the constant aftershocks continue to instill fear and uncertainty.

Ghulam Hazrat, a Herat city resident, was camping in a small tent last night, like thousands of others sharing his plight.

Hazrat and his family are forced to sleep outdoors, as returning home is not an option with the persistent aftershocks.

“The children cannot sleep in the house…(they) suddenly start screaming out of fear. The atmosphere of fear is palpable,” Hazrat, 34, told EFE.

He said there was not even enough food for the children.

And Hazrat’s family is not alone in this predicament. Residents seeking refuge have crowded the city streets, parks, and gardens.

“Most people (…) are out of their homes,” said Murad, 50, who is staying with his family in a city park.

Residents and volunteers work inexhaustibly, using shovels and even their bare hands to sift through the rubble in search of survivors.

Some 124 families are sheltered inside plastic tents at the Ansari camp in Herat, a few kilometers from Zindah Jan, most of them still reeling from shock or waiting hopefully for news of their loved ones who have gone missing.

“There are still a lot of people under the rubble and our priority is to get them out of the dust,” the spokesperson told reporters.

Sabira, a 10-year-old girl, told EFE that they too were trapped under the ground. She and other of her family survived but “my two brothers and my nephew have died.”

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