Number killed in Afghanistan earthquape tops 2,200

KABUL, Afghanistan: The beardown earthquake that deed eastbound Afghanistan adjacent the borderline with Pakistan precocious past week, wiping retired villages and causing dense destruction, is present credited with claiming much than 2,200 lives.

The quake struck astatine 11:47 p.m. section clip past Thursday nighttime with a magnitude of 6.2. The U.S. Geological Survey said its halfway was astir 17 miles east-northeast of Jalalabad successful Nangarhar state and lone 5 miles deep. Because it was shallow, the shaking caused acold much damage.

The worst demolition was reported successful Kunar province, wherever districts specified arsenic Nur Gul, Soki, Watpur, Manogi, and Chapadare saw full homes crumble. Many of the houses were made of mud bricks and wood, materials excessively anemic to withstand specified force.

Jalalabad, a engaged commercialized hub with astir 300,000 residents, has stronger factual and ceramic buildings. However, galore surrounding villages are mediocre and trust connected weaker structures, making them particularly vulnerable.

Hamdullah Fitrat, a Taliban spokesperson, confirmed connected Thursday of this week that the decease toll has present risen to 2,205, making it 1 of the deadliest earthquakes successful Afghanistan's modern history.

Health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said rescue teams were inactive struggling to scope the worst-hit places. Provincial officials confirmed that hundreds of injured radical had already been taken to hospitals, but galore much are expected erstwhile rescuers get successful isolated upland areas chopped disconnected by breached roads.

Kunar, a mountainous portion bordering Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has seen monolithic destruction. In 1 colony successful Nurgal district, astir each location was reduced to rubble. "Children are nether the rubble. The aged are nether the rubble. Young radical are nether the rubble," 1 hopeless villager said, pleading for contiguous help.

Blocked roads person forced assistance workers to locomotion for hours to scope survivors. The injured are being flown from Nangarhar Airport to hospitals successful different cities.

Survivors described scenes of horror. Sadiqullah, from Maza Dara successful Nurgal, said helium woke to a dependable similar thunder. He rushed to his children's country and managed to prevention 3 of them. But erstwhile helium tried to rescue the remainder of his family, the location collapsed connected him.

"My woman and 2 sons are dead, and my begetter is successful the infirmary with me," helium said. "We were trapped for hours until radical from adjacent areas pulled maine out."

He recalled that it felt arsenic if the full upland was shaking.

Afghanistan is nary alien to specified disasters. The state lies connected a unsafe responsibility enactment wherever the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. Just past year, a bid of quakes successful the westbound killed much than 1,000 people.