Over 2000 people were killed and hundreds feared wounded after a massive 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Western Afghanistan’s Herat, the Taliban government said on Sunday. At least a dozen villages in Zinda Jan and Ghoryan districts have been completely destroyed in one of the deadliest earthquake to hit Afghanistan in decades.
According to Heart officials, the earthquake, which was followed by aftershocks, killed more than 30 people and injured over 600 others in the western Afghanistan province. Most of the deaths occurred in the 12 destroyed villages.
Earlier, Janan Saiq, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Disaster Management said that some houses in Farah and Badghis provinces were also damaged.
Meanwhile, the search and rescue operation is still undergoing in several areas and authorities fear the death toll could rise further. Some of the injured are also in serious condition.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), six earthquakes occurred in western Afghanistan the largest one was at a magnitude of 6.3. Based on the information from (USGS), the latest earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 occurred at a depth of 7.7 km in the “Zinda Jan district of Herat.”
The quakes were also was felt in the nearby provinces of Farah and Badghis, according to local media reports. Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, situated near the convergence of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
(With agency inputs)