Welcome
Weather report
earthquake
Local authorities fear that the number of victims will rise if victims’ bodies are discovered under the rubble of buildings.
Published on July 10, 2023 1:42 p.m. Updated on July 10, 2023 7:14 p.m
Reading time: 1 min
People gather on the streets of Herat, Afghanistan, on October 7, 2023, following a magnitude 6.3 earthquake. (AFP)
Its epicenter was 40 kilometers northwest of Herat, Afghanistan. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck this region in the west of the country on Saturday, October 7th. The death toll is “around 120” dead and more than 1,000 injured, regional authorities said.
A preliminary report from the USGS, the United States Geological Survey, confirms that the earthquake, which was shortly followed by four aftershocks measuring 5.5, 4.7, 6.3 and 5.9, could cause a high number of deaths. “It is likely that there will be a significant number of casualties and the disaster may be widespread,” the institute estimates.
In Herat, which has a population of 1.9 million, according to the World Bank, residents and traders fled buildings as the earthquake struck around 11 a.m. local time. On the Taliban government side, those responsible for dealing with natural disasters could not be immediately reached.
View comments