Post a Comment Print Share on Facebook
Featured Rusia Ucrania Tribunal Supremo Terrorismo Irán

Death toll from earthquake in eastern Afghanistan rises to over 1,000

The Taliban leader asks for international help to "deal with this great tragedy".

- 18 reads.

Death toll from earthquake in eastern Afghanistan rises to over 1,000

The Taliban leader asks for international help to "deal with this great tragedy"

The death toll from the earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the open Richter scale recorded on Tuesday night in the Afghan province of Jost (east), near the border with Pakistan, has risen to more than a thousand , as confirmed on Wednesday by the Afghan authorities.

The Department of Information and Culture of the province of Paktika, the most affected by the earthquake, has indicated that more than a thousand people have died and more than 1,500 have been injured in the districts of Gatan and Barmal, before adding that the balance of deaths could increase in the coming hours, according to information collected by the Afghan state news agency, Bakhtar News Agency.

This figure therefore does not include the deaths in other areas of the province of Paktika and the adjacent Jost, where the epicenter of the earthquake was located, so the overall balance could be much higher, waiting for the authorities give a unified number.

The Deputy Minister for Disaster Management of Afghanistan, Sharafudín Muslim, has announced the payment of compensation for the relatives of the victims, while the supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Hebatullah Ahundzada, has conveyed his condolences to the victims of the earthquake.

"It is possible that the number of dead will increase even more," said Adjundzada, who has shown his "great sadness" for what happened. "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan offers its sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of all the victims," ​​he said.

Likewise, the leader of the Taliban has stressed that the authorities "will adopt all necessary measures to evacuate the martyrs and transport and care for the wounded", as well as to "provide immediate aid to the affected people".

"We also ask the international community, charitable organizations and all humanitarian organizations to help the people of Afghanistan to face this great tragedy," Ajunzada concluded in his statement, published by Taliban spokesman Zabihulá Muyahid.

The Mujahid himself has highlighted through a message on his Twitter account that the authorities have held "an emergency meeting" to "discuss the delivery of assistance to those affected by the earthquake." The meeting was headed by the prime minister, Mohammad Hasán Ajund.

"In addition to expressing sympathy for all the victims of the earthquake, during the meeting all the agencies involved were asked to send emergency teams to the region," he said, before announcing the shipment of food, clothing and medicine to the affected areas.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

For its part, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has indicated in its first situation report that the affected districts are Barmal, Ziruk, Nika and Giyan, in Paktika, and Spera, in Jost.

Thus, it has detailed that "nearly 1,800 houses have been destroyed or have suffered damage in Gayan, which represents 70 percent of the houses in the district", while adding that "the number of victims is expected to increase while search and rescue operations continue."

"The Ministry of Defense has sent five helicopters to Paktika province to facilitate medical evacuations, as well as a medical team to Gayan district," he said, before adding that the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) " has deployed at least 12 teams of health workers to Gayan and several mobile and nutrition teams to Barmal and Spera."

In this regard, he explained that "the humanitarian partners are preparing to assist the affected families in Paktika and Jost, in coordination with the 'de facto' authorities", although he acknowledged that the heavy rains and winds in the area are slowing down relief efforts.

"Humanitarian actors are also providing emergency assistance, with the deployment of fourteen medical health teams by the World Health Organization (WHO), Organization for Health Promotion and Management (OHPM) and CARE in Paktika province," has said. In addition, OHPM and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) have deployed another four teams to the affected areas.

In this regard, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and the Afghan Red Crescent "have redirected three mobile health teams to Paktika to address immediate needs and are mobilizing additional medical supplies for deployment from Kabul."

The director of World Vision in Afghanistan, Larisa Klepac, has shown her "deep concern" for the "devastation" caused by the earthquake "in a country that is already mired in extreme poverty, drought and the worsening of the political situation, economic and security.

"This will further affect hundreds of thousands of already vulnerable people in the country and increase their suffering," he said, before stressing that "this earthquake is nothing more than the latest disaster in a country facing massive famine and to economic collapse.

"The already limited capacity of Afghanistan's health system adds further concern. Hospitals and medical centers are inundated with patients injured by today's earthquake. With more than half of Afghanistan's population living in poverty and with more than 20 million of food insecure people, the humanitarian crisis in this country is already out of control, and thousands of families are once again devastated by another event beyond their control," Klepac said.

INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS

For his part, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, stressed that the OCHA and the UN mission in the country "are analyzing the needs and responding to the consequences of the earthquake, which has claimed hundreds of lives." . "Our condolences to the families of the deceased, the response is on the way," he stressed.

Likewise, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, has indicated on his Twitter account that "the Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC) is closely monitoring the situation and is prepared to coordinate the assistance of the European Union ".

The US Embassy in Kabul has joined the condolences, which has shown its "deep sadness". "We offer our heartfelt condolences to all who have been affected by this devastating event," she said in a brief message on Twitter.

The earthquake had its epicenter about 44 kilometers from the city of Jost, while its epicenter has been at a depth of about 51 kilometers, according to data published on its website by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The Pakistani media have reported that a mild earthquake has shaken the capital, Islamabad, and other parts of the country, without the Pakistani authorities having yet ruled on possible victims on their territory.