Devastation Strikes Afghanistan: Third Earthquake Hits in Six Days
In a cruel twist of fate, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake rocked Afghanistan’s remote south-eastern region on Thursday night, marking the third seismic event in just six days. The aftermath of the first earthquake continued to unfold, with the death toll steadily climbing.
The tremor, which struck at 20:56 local time (15:36 GMT), jolted residents of Nangarhar and Kunar provinces out of their homes in a panic as the ground shook beneath them.
While official casualty reports from the latest quake are not yet available, medics at Kunar Provincial Hospital confirmed that 17 individuals were brought in with injuries.
Tragically, the initial earthquake on Sunday has claimed the lives of 1,368 individuals and left 2,180 others wounded, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA), drawing attention to the dire situation in 25 affected villages.
Despite ongoing rescue efforts, the challenging terrain of the region has posed obstacles for relief operations, complicating the delivery of aid to those in need.
A subsequent earthquake measuring 5.5 on Tuesday disrupted rescue missions temporarily, further complicating the already arduous task at hand. Helicopters have been crucial in reaching remote areas inaccessible due to landslides.
As aftershocks continue to rattle the region, Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, emphasized the perseverance of rescue teams and the ongoing distribution of essential supplies to affected communities.
With the Taliban government calling for international assistance, the UN has allocated emergency funds, and the UK has pledged £1m ($1.3m) in aid to support relief efforts in the stricken areas.
Afghanistan’s susceptibility to earthquakes is well-documented, given its location atop several fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates converge.
This recent series of seismic events echoes past tragedies, such as the 2023 earthquakes in western Afghanistan that claimed over 1,400 lives near Herat, and the 5.9-magnitude quake in eastern Afghanistan the year prior, which resulted in at least 1,000 fatalities and 3,000 injuries. — BBC
