Afghanistan earthquake toll rises to more than 1000

The epicentre of the magnitude-6.3 quake was 40km northwest of Herat, and was followed by eight aftershocks between 4.3 and 6.3.

Afghan residents clear debris from a damaged house after an earthquake hit Sarboland village in the Zinda Jan district of Herat province. Picture: AFP

The death toll from an earthquake in western Afghanistan on Sunday rose to more than 10000, as desperate families dug into the night to free relatives trapped in the rubble.

The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of Saturday’s magnitude-6.3 quake was 40km northwest of the region’s largest city Herat, and was followed by eight aftershocks with magnitudes between 4.3 and 6.3. The quake had a shallow depth of just 14km.

The death toll from the series of earthquakes rose sharply on Sunday to “more than 1000”, a government spokesman said.

“Unfortunately, the casualties are practically very high... the death toll is more than one thousand people,” said Bilal Karimi.

At Sarboland village of Zinda Jan district, in rural Herat province, dozens of homes had been razed near the epicentre of the earthquakes.

Groups of men with shovels dug through piles of crumbled masonry as women and children waited in the open, with gutted homes displaying personal belongings flapping in a harsh wind.

“There was a big noise, and it didn’t give any time to react,” said 42-year-old Bashir Ahmad. “In the very first shake, all the houses collapsed.”

“Those who were inside the houses were buried,” he said. “There are families which we have heard no news from.”

Nek Mohammad said he was at work when the first quake struck about 11am. “We came home and saw 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.

Crowds of residents fled buildings in Herat city as the series of tremors began, although casualty reports from the metropolitan area were minimal.

“We were in our offices and suddenly the building started shaking,” said 45-year-old resident Bashir Ahmad. “Wall plasters started to fall down and the walls got cracks; some walls and parts of the building collapsed.”

“I am not able to contact my family, network connections are disconnected. I am too worried and scared – it was horrifying.”

Men, women and children stood out in the wide streets, away from tall buildings, in the moments after the first quake and remained wary of returning to their homes as aftershocks rumbled for hours.

Early on Saturday night, disaster management authority spokesman Mullah Jan Sayeq said the number of fatalities was expected “to rise very high”.

Fatalities running into the hundreds were possible, according to a USGS preliminary estimate. “Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response,” it said.

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.

In June last year, more than 1000 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless after a magnitude-5.9 quake – the deadliest in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century – struck the \province of Paktika.

Afghanistan is already in the grip of a grinding humanitarian crisis, following the widespread withdrawal of foreign aid since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

AFP