Afghan rescuers race to find quake survivors
JALALABAD, Afghanistan — The United Nations warned of an exponential rise in casualties from a major earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, as the Taliban said the death toll passed 1,400 on Tuesday, with more than 3,000 people injured.
The figures provided by Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid were just for the province of Kunar.
Sunday night’s powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck several provinces, causing extensive damage. It flattened villages and trapped people under the rubble of homes constructed mostly of mud bricks and wood that were unable to withstand the shock.
Rough terrain is hampering rescue and relief efforts, forcing Taliban authorities to air-drop dozens of commandos to evacuate the injured from places where helicopters cannot land.
‘Multiple crises’
Aid agency Save the Children said one of its teams walked for over 19 kilometers to reach villages cut off by rock falls, carrying medical equipment on their backs with the help of community members.
An aftershock of 5.2 magnitude close to the epicenter of Sunday’s quake rattled the area on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage.
Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s resident coordinator for Afghanistan, said rescuers are scrambling in a “race against time” to reach the mountainous and remote area. In a media briefing in Geneva Tuesday, he warned of a surge in casualty numbers.
“We cannot afford to forget the people of Afghanistan who are facing multiple crises, multiple shocks, and the resilience of the communities has been saturated,” Ratwatte said, while urging the international community to step forward.
“These are life and death decisions while we race against time to reach people,” he said.
Major earthquake
It is the third major earthquake since the Taliban seized power in 2021, and the latest crisis to beset Afghanistan, which is reeling from deep cuts to aid funding, a weak economy, and millions of people forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan.
Ratwatte said that when the walls of wooden and mud homes collapse, the roof falls on the occupants, causing injury or death. While the area was low-density, the earthquake struck when everybody was asleep.
“If you were to model it based on what has happened before, clearly there’s no question that the casualty rate is going to be rather exponential,” he said.
Aid trickling in
The Taliban government, which is only recognized by Russia, has appealed for assistance from the international community and the humanitarian sector. However, help for Afghanistan is in short supply due to competing global crises and reduced aid budgets in donor countries.
The United Nations humanitarian office released $5 million from its emergency fund to help kickstart the U.N. response and that will be matched by $5 million from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Tuesday.
The UN has dispatched at least 25 assessment teams to the region, deploying essential items including blankets and solar lamps to areas that can be reached, Dujarric said. Humanitarian experts said that immediate priorities include emergency shelter, critical medical supplies, drinking water and emergency food aid.
