In Western Afghanistan, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck on Sunday, resulting in one fatality and numerous injuries.
This region had already suffered a devastating earthquake the previous week, claiming the lives of over 1,000 individuals, primarily women and children.
Residents in Herat, the provincial capital, were just beginning to return to their homes after days of sleeping outdoors in fear of aftershocks from the prior quake.
The latest earthquake occurred at around 8 am (0330 GMT) with its epicenter located 33 km (20 miles) northwest of Herat city. Following the initial tremor, there were aftershocks with magnitudes of 5.4 and 4.2, as reported by the US Geological Survey.
Hamid Nizami, a 27-year-old shopkeeper, expressed the fear and panic among the people of Herat, stating, “It’s Allah’s blessing that it happened during the day when people were awake.”
Abdul Qadeem Mohammadi, the head doctor at Herat Regional Hospital, reported, “So far, we have registered 93 injured and one fatality.” National disaster management authorities are still assessing the extent of the damage caused by this recent earthquake.
Just a few days prior, on October 7, the same region of Herat was hit by another 6.3 magnitude earthquake, followed by eight powerful aftershocks, causing significant damage to rural homes.
The Taliban government reported over 1,000 casualties from the earlier tremors, while the World Health Organization (WHO) revised the figure to nearly 1,400 late on Saturday.
