Afghans reel from the earthquake that killed thousands
Oct 9, 2023
People are digging through the rubble from the quake in western Afghanistan
ZINDA JAN, Afghanistan (AP) — People dug through the rubble of the quake in western
Afghanistan
for their few possessions but the material losses seemed unimportant.Saturday’s 6.3 magnitude quake
killed and injured thousands when it leveled an untold number of homes in Herat province. Picking through the rubble on Monday, Asadullah Khan paused to think about a future marred by grief.Khan lost three daughters, his mother and his sister-in-law. Five members of his uncle’s family have died. His neighbors are grief-stricken, too.
“We have lost 23 people in this village,” Khan said.
Mounds of rubble flank the road winding through Zinda Jan district. Some door frames remain standing. There were few people in sight on Monday.
The Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Abdul Ghani Baradar, and his team visited the quake-affected region Monday to deliver “immediate relief assistance” and ensure “equitable and accurate distribution of aid,” authorities said.
Top U.N officials also went to Zinda Jan to assess the extent of the damage. And in neighboring
Pakistan
, the government held a special session to review aid for Afghanistan, including relief teams, food, medicine, tents and blankets.The Taliban's supreme leader has made no public comments about the quake.
Afghanistan has few reliable statistics but a spokesman for Afghanistan's national disaster authority, Janan Sayiq, told reporters in Kabul that around 4,000 people were killed or injured by the disaster. He did not provide a breakdown, but the United Nations estimates that 1,023 people were killed and 1,663 people injured in 11 villages in Zinda Jan alone.
Nearly 2,000 houses in 20 villages were destroyed, the Taliban has said. The area hit by the quake has just one government-run hospital.
Saturday's epicenter was about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the city of Herat, the provincial capital, and it was followed by three very strong aftershocks and some smaller shocks, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Residents of the city rushed out of their homes again on Monday after another aftershock that the USGS said the aftershock measured at magnitude 4.9. There was a second, slightly stronger aftershock later in the day.
More than 35 teams from the military and nonprofit groups are involved in rescue efforts, said Sayiq, from the disaster authority.
The fast-approaching winter, combined with the new disaster, is likely to exacerbate Afghanistan's existing challenges and make it even harder for people to meet their basic needs, like adequate shelter, food, and medicine, aid groups warn.
Vital infrastructure including bridges was destroyed and emergency response teams have been deployed to the area to provide immediate humanitarian assistance, the International Rescue Committee said.
The global response to the quake has been slow, with much of the world wary of dealing directly with the Taliban-led government and focused on the deadly escalation between Israel and the Palestinians in the aftermath of the surprise attack by Gaza militants on Saturday.
Iranian
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian called his Afghan Taliban counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, to express his condolences, according to a post on X by Hafiz Zia Ahmad, the deputy spokesman for the foreign ministry in Kabul. The Iranian diplomat "promised humanitarian aid to victims,” said Ahmad.Meanwhile, the justice ministry has urged national and international charity foundations, businessmen and Afghans to mobilize and gather humanitarian aid for needy people in the province.
“Due to the extent of damages and casualties caused by this incident, a large number of our compatriots in Herat province need urgent humanitarian aid," the ministry said in a statement.
Afghans are still reeling from recent natural disasters.
A
magnitude 6.5 earthquake in March
struck much of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and an earthquakehit eastern Afghanistan in June 2022
, flattening stone and mud-brick homes and killing at least 1,000 people.____
Rahim Faiez contributed from Islamabad.
MORE NEWS
Even UFC champ Zhang Weili under pressure to find boyfriend from pushy Chinese parents
Even Asia’s first UFC world champion, Zhang Weili, cannot escape the pressure of Chinese parents pushing her to get married. A year ago, Zhang, now 37, said she was glad her family was not rushing her to marry, preferring to focus on her fighting career and leave relationships to fate. But in an interview posted on social media this week, Zhang revealed her parents grew deeply concerned about her love life during the first half of the year, saying they were “pushing really hard”. In the...
Inside the PLA’s new austerity drive: lean, mean, printing-on-both-sides machine
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is distributing second-hand briefcases, salvaging screws and steel bars, and reusing holiday decorations to keep costs down as part of a thrift campaign emphasising growth through frugality. It forms part of a broader cost-cutting effort in the Chinese military under Beijing’s 15th five-year plan covering 2026 to 2030, which calls for building the armed forces through “diligence and thrift” and pursuing a path of “high efficiency, low cost and...
Chinese scholars warned of challenge of ‘translating academic research into policy’
Chinese academic courses designed to deepen understanding of different countries or regions face a challenge in better informing policy and moving beyond frameworks developed in the West, a conference in Beijing has heard. Speakers said that as the country’s international engagement deepened, it needed a better understanding of the nations it engaged with, including their political systems, histories and strategic priorities. The discipline – known in China as “area studies” – draws on...
Chinese scientists dissatisfied with jobs but optimistic about future, survey says
Chinese scientists are less satisfied with their jobs than researchers in any other major country, according to a survey that also found they are more optimistic about their careers than their counterparts in the United States and Britain. Only 51 per cent of the 157 respondents from China said they were satisfied with their jobs, according to the survey published this month in the British scientific journal Nature, down 24 per cent from 2018. The survey drew 3,882 respondents from 133...
In Michigan Senate race, Trump’s softer China tone gives candidates room to look elsewhere
Two years ago, Mike Rogers stood before the Republican National Convention and warned that it was “impossible to build an EV without getting into bed with the Communist Party of China”. The former US House Intelligence Committee chairman made opposition to Chinese investment a prominent theme of his 2024 Senate bid in Michigan, which he narrowly lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. Now, as Rogers runs again, US President Donald Trump’s softer approach towards Beijing has given candidates more room...
Asian Champions Trophy: Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh Star As India Outclass China 5-2
Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh struck two goals each as India defeated China 5-2 to make it two victories in two games at the Asian Champions Trophy.
Teen Star Anmol Kharb Shocks Christophersen; Sindhu, Lakshya March On At Hylo Open
Anmol Kharb continued her dream run at the Hylo Open with a brilliant comeback victory over world No. 12 Line Christophersen to reach the quarter-finals.
Could Madih Talal Follow Ryan Williams' Path To India? 'For Me, If They Want, They Can...'
French-Moroccan midfielder Madih Talal hasn't ruled out representing India one day, saying that he is willing to talk if approached.
US bans Chinese labs from testing electronics ahead of Trump-Xi meeting
The United States on Thursday banned all Chinese laboratories from testing electronic devices destined for the US market, just weeks before US President Donald Trump is due to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to bar testing laboratories and certification bodies in China and other economies that lack a “mutual recognition agreement” or reciprocal trade agreement with the...
Cristiano Ronaldo Sends Classy Message After Edging Lionel Messi In BOAT Vote
Cristiano Ronaldo thanked fans worldwide after his 2008 Manchester United season was voted the greatest Ballon d'Or-winning campaign of all time.
China tests powerful AI that could one day be used on submarines
China has showcased artificial intelligence (AI) technology alongside 7,000-metre (23,000-feet) deep-sea trials of its upgraded Jiaolong submersible, highlighting the potential for similar systems to support decision-making and emergency responses aboard nuclear-powered submarines. The Chinese crewed submersible reached a maximum depth of 7,056.9 metres during three dives in the Philippine Basin in the western Pacific Ocean, according to state news agency Xinhua on October 27. The trials...
New images suggest China’s fourth aircraft carrier could launch in 2027, analysts say
China’s fourth aircraft carrier, widely believed to be the country’s first with a nuclear-powered system, could launch as early as next year, according to US researchers, as Beijing pursues a fleet capable of projecting naval and air power far beyond its shores. A launch in 2027 would coincide with the centenary of the People’s Liberation Army, with the anniversary falling on August 1. Beijing has previously used major military anniversaries to showcase developments in its armed forces. The...