A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit western Afghanistan on Sunday. This came just over a week after previous strong quakes and aftershocks that resulted in the death of thousands of people and the destruction of entire villages in the same area. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the epicenter of the latest quake was approximately 34 kilometers (21 miles) outside of Herat, the provincial capital, and occurred eight kilometers (five miles) below the surface.
Doctors Without Borders, an aid group, stated that two people were reported dead as a result of the earthquake. Additionally, Herat Regional Hospital received over 100 injured individuals from the temblor on Sunday. Mohammad Zahir Noorzai, the head of the emergency relief team in Herat Province, mentioned that one person had died and nearly 150 others were injured. He also expressed that the number of casualties may increase as they have not yet reached all affected areas.
Sayed Kazim Rafiqi, a 42-year-old resident of Herat City, described the devastation caused by the earthquake as unprecedented. He mentioned that the majority of houses were damaged and people were terrified. In response, Rafiqi and others went to the hospital to donate blood, stating that they must help in any way possible.
The earthquakes that occurred on October 7 caused entire villages in Herat to be flattened, making it one of the most destructive quakes in recent history. U.N. officials reported that over 90 percent of the people who died a week ago were women and children. Taliban representatives claimed that the earlier quakes killed over 2,000 people in the province. The epicenter of the initial quake was located in Zenda Jan district, where 1,294 people died, 1,688 were injured, and every home was destroyed.
The initial quake, along with numerous aftershocks and a second 6.3-magnitude quake on Wednesday, resulted in the destruction of hundreds of mud-brick homes that could not withstand such force. Schools, health clinics, and other village facilities also collapsed. The region’s dusty hills are now filled with rubble and funerals, with very little left of the villages. Survivors are grappling with the loss of multiple family members, and in many areas, volunteers searching the debris and digging mass graves outnumber the remaining residents.