Afghanistan-earthquake: Authorities struggle to reach remote area

Authorities are now struggling to reach a remote area hit by a powerful earthquake that has killed at least 1,000 people in Afghanistan so far, but inadequate communications and a lack of a proper road network are hampering efforts. according to officials.

The 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of yesterday, about 160 kilometers southeast of Kabul in a mountainous and arid region, with small settlements near the border with Pakistan.

“We can not get to the area, the networks are so inadequate, we are trying to get updates,” Mohammad Ismail Muawiya, a spokesman for the Taliban’s highest-ranking military commander in Paktika province, told Reuters. was hit hardest by the earthquake.

The death toll rises to about 1,000, he added, and the injured to about 1,500, while more than 3,000 homes have been destroyed.

About 600 people were rescued yesterday, Wednesday night in various areas affected, he added.

The quake-hit town of Gayan was severely damaged and most of its earthen buildings were damaged or completely collapsed, according to a Reuters team.

The city was packed with Taliban troops and ambulances as a supply helicopter landed nearby, raising clouds of dust. About 300 people were sitting on the ground waiting for help.

The exact information coming from the remote mountain villages affected by the earthquake is limited.

Seismic activity occurs in large parts of southern Asia, where two tectonic plates meet, the Eurasian and the Indian.

In 2015, an earthquake in remote areas of northeastern Afghanistan claimed the lives of hundreds of people in that country and nearby areas in northern Pakistan.

Aid

South Korea plans to provide $ 1 million in humanitarian aid to earthquake victims in Afghanistan, according to the Seoul Foreign Ministry.

He also announced that the Japanese government plans to provide the necessary assistance to the victims of the earthquake in Afghanistan.

Deputy Secretary-General Seiji Kihara told reporters on a regular basis that the government was coordinating its actions to “provide needed assistance immediately”, as well as assessing the situation to understand local needs.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ

Source: Capital

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