A magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed two people in western Afghanistan yesterday, with damaged prisons evacuated and residents fleeing a region where tremors have claimed at least 1,000 lives this past week.
Since October 7, a series of potent quakes have jolted Herat province, levelling whole villages, burying families and leaving thousands homeless as winter approaches.
In rural Injil district, near the epicentre of yesterday’s quake, 64-year-old Rustam narrowly escaped when tremors destroyed the remnants of his home and buried belongings he was trying to salvage around 8am (0330 GMT).
“We heard a very terrible and scary sound,” he said. “When we entered the house, like the power of God, it sounded like a bomb blast, and collapsed.”
His neighbour in Ghar Mushak village, 57-year-old Khudadad, also said that a home he had hoped to repair was reduced to rubble.
“We people are hopeless,” he said. “We have nowhere to stay, it’s like we are in a ruined desert.”
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said two new fatalities and 154 injuries were registered at Herat Regional Hospital, where patients were being ferried on stretchers and treated outside under gazebos.
“The situation is very critical,” MSF’s Afghanistan Programme Head Yahya Kalilah told AFP. “In terms of psychology, people are panicked and traumatised. People are not feeling safe. I will assure you 100%, no one will sleep in their house.”
The latest quake’s epicentre was 33km (20 miles) northwest of the provincial capital Herat city and was followed by aftershocks of magnitudes 5.4, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Officials said more than 528 prisoners had been released from Herat province and neighbouring Badghis province because jails “were in danger of collapsing” from quake damage.
Many Herat city residents have fled due to the threat of aftershocks.
Haris Aryan said he sent his family south to Farah province to escape the trauma of the quakes.
“Many people, anyone with relatives or accommodation in neighbouring provinces, all of them have fled,” he told AFP. “Those who do not have anywhere to go ... they are spending nights in the roads and parks.”
Oxford University seismologist Zakeria Shnizai warned of further tremors in the days to come.
“Aftershocks occur due to the readjustment of rocks and faults that slipped during the main earthquake,” he told AFP. “The process of readjustment can take a while, ranging from days to weeks or even months.”
The quake series began on October 7 with a 6.3 tremor and eight powerful aftershocks, which devastated rural villages northwest of Herat city.
The Taliban government said more than 1,000 people were killed, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) put the figure at nearly 1,400 late on Saturday.