Herat, Afghanistan — The death toll from a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan surged again on Sunday, exceeding 2,000, as rescuers searched for survivors amid the debris of destroyed villages.
Saturday’s 6.3 magnitude quake, followed by eight powerful aftershocks, struck areas 19 miles northwest of the provincial capital, Herat, leveling rural homes and causing city residents to flee in panic.
“2,053 individuals perished in 13 villages. 1,240 people were injured, and 1,320 homes were completely demolished,” stated Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, referencing the disaster management agency.
As night fell Saturday in Sarboland village of Zinda Jan district, an AFP reporter saw dozens of homes ruined near the epicenter of the quakes, which shook the area for more than five hours.
Men shovelled through piles of crumbled masonry as women and children waited in the open, with gutted homes displaying personal belongings flapping in the harsh wind.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 600 houses were destroyed or partially damaged across at least 12 villages in Herat province, with some 4,200 people affected.
“In the very first shake all the houses collapsed,” said 42-year-old Bashir Ahmad.
“Those who were inside the houses were buried,” he said. “There are families we have heard no news from.”
‘Everything turned to sand’
Nek Mohammad told AFP he was at work when the first quake struck at around 11:00 am (0630 GMT).
“We came home and saw that actually there was nothing left. Everything had turned to sand,” said the 32-year-old, adding that some 30 bodies had been recovered.
“So far, we have nothing. No blankets or anything else. We are here left out at night with our martyrs,” he said as darkness began to fall.
The WHO said late Saturday “the number of casualties is expected to rise as search and rescue operations are ongoing”.
In Herat city, residents fled their homes and schools, hospitals and offices evacuated when the first quake was felt. There were few reports of casualties in the metropolitan area, however.
Afghanistan is already suffering in the grip of a dire humanitarian crisis, with the widespread withdrawal of foreign aid following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
Herat province — home to some 1.9 million people on the border with Iran — has also been hit by a years-long drought that has crippled many already hardscrabble agricultural communities.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
More than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless in June last year after a 5.9-magnitude quake — the deadliest in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century — struck the impoverished province of Paktika.