Death toll from Afghanistan earthquake has risen to ‘more than a thousand’

The death toll from the earthquake followed by aftershocks in western Afghanistan has risen to more than a thousand on Sunday, as rescue teams race against time to find survivors under the rubble in villages flattened by the disaster. 

The earthquake on Saturday, measuring 6.3 magnitude, followed by eight strong aftershocks, struck remote and hard-to-reach areas located about 30 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital Herat. This led to the collapse of rural homes, prompting residents to rush to the streets. 

Bilal Karimi, the deputy government spokesman, told Agence France-Presse on Sunday morning, "Unfortunately, the death toll is very high... it has reached more than a thousand people. We are still waiting for the final numbers." 

As night fell on Saturday in the village of Sarboland, located in the Zinda Jan district, an AFP correspondent witnessed dozens of destroyed houses near the epicenter of the earthquakes that shook the region for more than five hours. 

While men worked to clear the rubble after the buildings collapsed, women and children waited in the open. 

The World Health Organization announced that over 600 houses were either destroyed or partially damaged in at least 12 villages in the Herat province, affecting around 4,200 people. 

One resident named Bashir Ahmad (42 years old) said, "All the houses collapsed during the first tremor. People inside the houses were buried... There are families we haven't heard any news from." 

AFP