According to local authorities, Northwestern Afghanistan is grappling with a devastating natural disaster as the death toll from two powerful earthquakes reached at least 813 people on Sunday. This unfortunate event is one of the deadliest in the country’s recent history.
On Saturday, the twin earthquakes, both measuring 6.3 in magnitude, struck Herat Province, bordering Iran. The earthquakes resulted in the collapse of mud-brick homes across multiple districts. The tragic event sent thousands of residents in the provincial capital, Herat City, to flee from their houses and office buildings as the ground trembled beneath them. Following the initial quakes, at least seven aftershocks further rattled the region.
The impact has been particularly severe in the areas where entire villages were reduced to rubble. Authorities and local volunteers are engaged in ongoing search-and-rescue operations, with the number of casualties expected to rise. Initially, officials reported around 2,000 deaths, but later clarification indicated that this figure included fatalities and injuries, as per the Ministry of Disaster Management. In many of the most severely affected regions, particularly remote villages with mud-brick structures, little or no government aid has reached those in need. Volunteers report a grim picture of devastation, where the boundaries between houses and alleys are no longer discernible.
Wakil Safi, 41, who experienced the earthquakes in Herat City, shared his harrowing experience. He and his five children rushed outside when the walls of their home began to shake, only to be knocked to the ground by the intense tremors. Like thousands of others in Herat City, they spent the night outdoors due to the fear of additional aftershocks. Aid workers arriving in the heavily affected areas on Sunday encountered utter devastation. Homes had crumbled, and in some tragic cases, entire families had perished. Local hospitals and clinics, already struggling due to funding shortages, were overwhelmed by hundreds of injured individuals.
These natural disasters have exacerbated the nation’s already dire humanitarian and economic crises, which have deepened since the fall of the Western-backed government two years ago. Nearly half of Afghanistan’s 39 million people now face severe hunger, including approximately three million teetering on the brink of starvation, warns the United Nations’ World Food Program. The country’s descent into a humanitarian catastrophe has been accelerated by the global community’s reduced attention and funding. As Afghanistan enters the harsh winter, families face agonizing choices between spending their limited resources on food or firewood to stave off the cold. The entrenched crisis, and a string of natural disasters, challenge the Taliban’s ability to coordinate widespread and sustained aid efforts.
The people of Afghanistan, already grappling with profound challenges, face an uphill battle in the wake of this devastating double earthquake. The international community’s response and support will be crucial in alleviating the suffering and aiding the country’s recovery.
