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Magnitude 6.3 earthquake in northwest Afghanistan, 320 dead… UN: Casualties expected to increase

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A magnitude 6.3 earthquake and powerful aftershocks occurred one after another in western Afghanistan on the 7th (local time), killing dozens of people, the National Disaster Authority of Afghanistan announced.

According to AP and Xinhua News Agency on the 7th (local time), the depth of the earthquake on this day was 10.0 km, and the epicenter was identified in the first analysis as 34.77 degrees north latitude and 62.03 degrees east longitude.

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The United Nations released a provisional figure putting the death toll at 320, but later said the figure was still being verified. A local Taliban official told the Guardian that the death toll was “much higher than that.”

After the earthquake that shook Herat province, local residents were seen taking to the streets and evacuating. Xinhua News Agency reported that local people said there were concerns about casualties as an earthquake struck western Afghanistan’s Herat, Badghis, and Farah provinces and adjacent regions.

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The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that local Afghan authorities estimated the dead at 100 and the injured at 500. The United Nations also reported that 465 homes were destroyed and 135 more were damaged.

“Local authorities expect the number of casualties to rise as search and rescue operations continue, with some people said to be trapped under collapsed buildings,” the UN said.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said in a preliminary report that “there is a potential for significant casualties and a potentially widespread disaster,” and that “past events at this alert level have required a regional or national response.” pointed out.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the earthquake was about 40 km northwest of Herat city. It was analyzed that there were three very strong aftershocks with magnitudes of 6.3, 5.9, and 5.5, and there were smaller shocks as well.

The Afghan disaster agency said four villages in the Zenda Yan district of the northwestern Herat province were the hardest hit by the earthquake and aftershocks.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which is active in Afghanistan, dispatched 12 ambulances to Zenda Jan and evacuated the casualties to the hospital.

WHO said on social media “He reported the local situation.

Source: Donga

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