The de facto government of the Taliban reckoned this Monday. “4 thousand 500 victims in the earthquake” They are also asking for help for this “major emergency”, with the total death toll between the dead and injured exceeding 2,400 by the final balance uncertain.
“It is difficult to say the exact number of dead and injured. 35 teams work therehas been approximately More than 4,500 dead and injured, this too is changing“Mullah Janan Sayeq, spokesman for the Ministry of Disaster Management of the Taliban Government, said at a press conference in Herat.
The situation of the province in the west of the country, This is a “major emergency”Authorities said they did not have the resources to deal with the disaster that devastated at least a dozen towns last Saturday.
Citizens, volunteers and survivors so far dig through rubble with small flashlights, shovels, and nailsThey look for traces of clothing or “strange” objects that would help them hypothesize the presence of bodies or people still alive in villages now reduced to mountains of dirt and rubble.
“The situation in the region is very urgent and the people need all kinds of assistance.”said Sayeq.
State It has limited machinery and technology. Despite requests for assistance in rescue operations, the Taliban’s isolation complicated the shipment.
Iran has so far offered to send around twenty rescue forces and two search dogs for the operations, while some other shipments from several countries have been limited to medicine, food and emergency kits.
Stating that the number of victims is constantly changing, he said, “Due to the large number of settled villages, the people can no longer work and in the destroyed villages they work only with machines.”
On people’s complaints about the lack of first aid services such as shelter, water and food, the official responded: “There are still many people buried under the rubble and our priority is to get them out of the dust.”
The spokesperson asked all humanitarian organizations to: lend a hand and help rescue operations.
“I request all humanitarian organizations to provide assistance as 20 villages have been completely destroyed and all the people there need assistance with food, non-food and shelter.”
several earthquakes
Afghanistan felt on Saturday at least seven concussions. The first and largest of these occurred at 12:11 at a depth of 14 kilometers and 33 kilometers away from Zindah Jan, Herat province, according to the USGS.
3 more earthquakes of magnitude 5.1 While rescue efforts were continuing, the same region was shaken this Monday.
Even in Herat, the capital of the province of the same name, people began sleeping on the streets for fear of a new disaster.
balance so far It is estimated that 2,400 people died And More than 2,000 people were injured.
This is the third deadliest earthquake in Afghanistan since 1998 and the worst tragedy the Taliban has had to face since taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, without access to the financial system and international reserves.