A pair of strong earthquakes shook western Afghanistan on Sunday, disrupting the power supply to Herat province, which was already reeling from a week of devastating quakes.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.3 and 5.5 quakes struck 20 minutes apart early morning, with their epicenters located outside Herat.
Authorities said surrounding provinces Badghis and Farah were also jolted by Sunday’s tremors, reporting the death of at least two people and more than 100 were brought to the main hospital in Herat. Residents and local officials confirmed that power was briefly cut off throughout province following the first quake.
Video report by Arash Arabasadi
The western Afghan region, bordering Iran, has experienced several major earthquakes and aftershocks since Oct. 7, when a magnitude 6.3 quake first rattled Herat.
The United Nations said in its latest situation report Saturday that the earlier earthquakes, one of the deadliest disasters to hit Afghanistan in decades, had destroyed several villages entirely, killing nearly 1,400 people, more than half of them women and girls, and injuring many more.
"Numerous aftershocks persisted until October 14, leaving the local population in a persistent state of anxiety and fear," the report said. It added that dust storms in several quake-hit Herat districts Thursday destroyed tents that temporarily sheltered thousands of survivors. The World Health Organization and other agencies have since resupplied tents.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government significantly lowered its official death toll from more than 2,000 to "over 1,000,” Thursday, blaming the remoteness of quake-hit areas for the initial higher casualty estimates.
UNICEF has said that more than 90% of those reported killed were women and children. Nearly 3,200 families, or at least 19,000 individuals, have been directly affected across the disaster zone.
The U.N. refugee agency Friday launched a $14.4 million humanitarian appeal to provide shelters, heaters, and warm clothes to survivors sleeping in the open ahead of the approaching harsh winter.
Earlier this week, UNICEF appealed for $20 million to deliver emergency and trauma care for newborns and children and repair schools and health care facilities in quake-affected areas.
"Many families have lost their homes and all their possessions. With winter approaching, these families are now in a more acute state of need, lacking warm clothes, shelter, cooking equipment, and access to clean water," said Siddig Ibrahim, UNICEF's chief field officer for western Afghanistan.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has announced $12 million in immediate humanitarian aid to assist Afghan victims.
Afghan officials say the country's immediate neighbors and regional countries, including China, Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, have already dispatched relief aid and pledged cash donations.
The natural calamity has compounded an already dire humanitarian crisis in the South Asian nation stemming from years of war and prolonged drought in one of the world’s poorest and hungriest countries.
