Western Afghanistan was shaken by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on Saturday morning, as reported by the United States Geological Survey. Subsequently, four substantial aftershocks ensued, all with their epicenters near the region’s largest city.
The USGS stated that the epicenter of the earthquake was 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the northwest of Herat city. Subsequent aftershocks, with magnitudes of 5.5, 4.7, 6.3, and 5.9, followed rapidly.
An AFP journalist on the scene stated that when the first earthquake struck around 11:00 am (0630 GMT), residents and shopkeepers rushed out of buildings. Currently, there are no reports of casualties.
‘We were in our offices and suddenly the building started shaking, and wall plasters started to fall down and the walls got cracks, some walls and parts of the building collapsed,’ 45-year-old Bashir Ahmad told AFP.
‘I am not able to contact my family, network connections are disconnected. I am too worried and scared, it was horrifying,’ he said.
Following the first earthquake and nearly an hour of aftershocks, women and children were seen in the broad streets of Herat, away from tall buildings, seeking safety.
According to an initial report from the USGS, the possibility of hundreds of fatalities exists.
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‘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.
Authorities responsible for disaster management within the Taliban government could not be reached for an immediate comment.
Earlier, the USGS had stated that the first earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2 and an unusually shallow depth of 14 kilometers.
With reference to 2019 World Bank statistics, Herat province’s capital, Herat, accommodated an estimated population of 1.9 million.
Last June, a catastrophic 5.9-magnitude earthquake, the deadliest in Afghanistan in almost 25 years, struck the impoverished province of Paktika, resulting in the tragic loss of over 1,000 lives and rendering tens of thousands homeless.
March this year saw a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 near Jurm in northeastern Afghanistan, leading to the unfortunate demise of 13 individuals in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Earthquakes are a frequent phenomenon in Afghanistan, with the Hindu Kush mountain range, located at the juncture of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, serving as a common source of seismic activity.
Afghanistan is already facing a deepening humanitarian emergency, further exacerbated by the sharp decrease in foreign aid since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.