Rescuers scaled back operations in the devastated northwestern part of Afghanistan on Tuesday as chances of finding survivors 72 hours after one of the world’s deadliest earthquakes dwindled, while residents held mass funerals for their dead.
According to the Taliban-led government, at least 2,400 people died and more than 2,000 were injured in multiple earthquakes that hit the northwest city of Herat, destroying thousands of homes. According to the World Health Organization, most of the victims were women and children.
Relief and rescue efforts have been hampered by collapsing infrastructure after decades of war, while foreign aid shortages, once the backbone of the economy, have dried up since the Taliban took power.
“The operation is almost complete,” disaster management ministry spokesman Janan Sayeeq told Reuters, adding that rescue operations were continuing in some villages.
The United Nations Humanitarian Office on Tuesday estimated the number of victims of the earthquake at 1,294 dead and 1,688 injured, with 485 missing. But he added that these numbers refer only to the Zinda Jan district and that four other districts were also affected, where the analysis continues.
Saturday’s tremors, measuring 6.3 in magnitude, are among the deadliest in the world this year, following earthquakes in Turkey and Syria that killed around 50,000 people.
Siah Aab, one of the district’s villages, lost at least 300 residents, according to local reports. Funeral prayers were held for the dead before they were buried, wrapped in blankets, in freshly dug graves.
“I lost my four daughters-in-law, my four sons and my grandchildren,” said resident Taj Mohammad, 60. He said 11 members of his family died in the disaster.
The United Nations humanitarian office announced assistance worth $5 million for the earthquake response, but immediate material support came from only a few countries.
Source: Terra
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