Kabul (AFP) – The Afghan government significantly reduced this Wednesday to “more than 1,000 dead” the number of victims of the earthquake that shook the west of the country last weekend.
First change: October 11, 2023 – 4:24 p.m. Last change: October 11, 2023 – 4:22 p.m
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The Ministry of Disaster Management initially said the magnitude 6.3 quake, which was followed by eight aftershocks on Saturday in Herat province, had claimed more than 2,000 lives.
“We have more than 1,000 deaths in the first incident,” corrected Afghan Health Minister Qalandar Ebad to the media this Wednesday. He also stated that around 2,400 people were injured.
Ebad attributed the reason for the confusion in the numbers to the isolation of the most affected areas and double counting by the various services involved in the rescue.
Another magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the same region this Wednesday, where thousands of people had slept outdoors for four days after their homes collapsed.
According to authorities, this latest earthquake caused one death and 130 injuries.
These people “lived outside their already destroyed homes” but were hit by fallen debris from the ruins, Abdul Zahir Noorzai, director of Herat Regional Hospital, told AFP.
Earthquakes in Afghanistan in 2023, ranked by magnitude and depth © Sophie Ramis, Julia Han Janicki / AFP
Wednesday’s earthquake was followed by two aftershocks measuring 5.0 and 4.1, but damage to the ancient city of Herat, home to more than half a million people, appears to be minimal, an AFP journalist noted.
Since Saturday, many residents of this city have been spending the night in the garden or in the car. In the hardest-hit rural areas, people are sleeping in tents or outdoors.
The different types of buildings collapse © Sophie Ramis, Sylvie Husson / AFP
Several ambulances arrived Wednesday morning, but most victims had minor injuries.
Volunteers armed with shovels and pickaxes worked tirelessly to find survivors after the earthquake that completely destroyed at least six villages in rural Zenda Jan on Saturday and affected more than 12,000 people, according to the United Nations.
© 2023 AFP