Arab Canada News
News
Published: June 22, 2022
At least a thousand people were killed and more than 1500 others were injured in a powerful earthquake that struck a remote border area in southeastern Afghanistan on Tuesday night to Wednesday, according to authorities who fear the death toll may rise.
Mohammad Amin Hudhaifa, head of media and culture in Paktika province, said in a message to the press, "The number of dead has reached a thousand and this number is rising." He added that "people are digging grave after grave."
He pointed out that about 1500 people were injured in Paktika, in the deadliest earthquake in Afghanistan in more than two decades.
He said, "It is also raining.. all houses were destroyed and there are no tents or food. People are still trapped under the rubble .. we need urgent help."
The earthquake, which measured 5.9 in magnitude at a depth of 10 kilometers, occurred around 1:30 near the border with Pakistan, according to the US Geological Survey.
Yaqoub Mandour, one of the tribal leaders from Paktika, said many of the injured from the Jani area in the province were transported to the hospital in ambulances and helicopters sent by the government to the affected area.
He told Agence France-Presse by phone, "Local markets are closed, as people rushed to the affected areas to help."
Mohammad Amin added that the Taliban government made urgent appeals to neighboring countries such as Iran but did not receive any responses.
It also appeals to the United Nations to stand with it in this disaster, which after the disaster approved an urgent grant of $15 million to save those affected who are exposed to the harsh weather worsening the suffering of people in the region.
Comments