The earth in the Afghan province of Herat shook at least eight times within a short period of time. There is still no reliable information about the extent of the damage. But it is feared that hundreds were killed.
There have been several strong earthquakes in quick succession in Afghanistan. There is still no reliable information about the number of victims. The AP news agency quotes a United Nations spokesman as saying there were at least 320 deaths. The numbers are still being checked. The AFP agency reports 120 deaths – with reference to preliminary information from the head of the disaster management authority in Herat province, Mosa Ashari.
Seven villages in the severely affected border province of Herat were completely destroyed, a spokesman for the national disaster control told the dpa news agency. “In some villages there were up to 1,000 or more people living. There were 300 houses. Only 100 people survived,” the spokesman said. There is no confirmation of this yet.
According to the spokesman for the Taliban ruling Afghanistan, Sabiullah Mujahid, military and rescue organizations have been ordered to rush to the earthquake-affected region to help. Hospitals were therefore preparing for numerous injured people.
Quake also felt in Iran
In the morning, at least eight earthquakes shook the border region near Iran within a short period of time. The US earthquake monitoring station USGS put the magnitude at values between 4.6 and 6.3. The tremors occurred northwest of the Afghan border town of Herat, at a shallow depth of around ten kilometers.
The quakes were also felt in neighboring Iran. Residents of the metropolis of Mashhad in Iran, around 300 kilometers from the earthquake zone, said that the walls of houses were shaking. According to Iran’s state media, teams were sent to border areas to inspect possible damage. There were dozens of aftershocks.
Severe earthquakes occur again and again in the region where the Arabian, Indian and Eurasian plates meet. More than 1,000 people died in a devastating earthquake in Afghanistan in 2022. After several decades of conflict, many houses are poorly built. Earthquakes therefore often cause great damage.