Aamir Latif
15 October 2023•Update: 16 October 2023
KARACHI, Pakistan
Another powerful earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale jolted northwestern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least one person and injuring dozens of others, local authorities said.
The earthquake rocked the provincial capital Herat at 8:06 a.m. local time (0336GMT), a statement by the provincial government said, adding that the wounded were taken to nearby hospitals.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck near the city of Herat, at a depth of 6.3km (4 miles).
WHO Afghanistan said more than 120 injured were brought to Herat Regional Hospital, and many more were taken to other facilities in the city.
"Teams continue to help hospital staff in mass casualty management, taking care of the injured and saving lives," it said on X. "Our thoughts are to families affected by the series of earthquakes."
Afghanistan's Information Ministry, run by the interim Taliban administration, said the quake shook Herat and adjoining provinces, knocking out electricity in most of the province.
Herat, which borders Iran and is known as the country’s cultural capital, has been hit by a series of earthquakes over the past week.
Powerful earthquakes on Oct. 7 flattened villages and killed over 2,000 people, apart from injuring thousands in the region, in one of the worst quakes seen in the country in recent years.
More than 90% of the people killed in last week’s quake were women and children, according to Siddiq Ibrahim, the head of UNICEF’s field office in Herat.
Most of the men were away working in the fields or elsewhere, leaving women doing chores and children at home when buildings collapsed, he said.
