{"id":1948,"date":"2023-10-07T16:50:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-07T20:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/pair-of-powerful-earthquakes-rock-western-afghanistan-at-least-120-dead-hundreds-more-injured\/07\/10\/2023\/"},"modified":"2023-10-07T16:50:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T20:50:37","slug":"pair-of-powerful-earthquakes-rock-western-afghanistan-at-least-120-dead-hundreds-more-injured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/pair-of-powerful-earthquakes-rock-western-afghanistan-at-least-120-dead-hundreds-more-injured\/07\/10\/2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Pair of powerful earthquakes rock western Afghanistan; at least 120 dead, hundreds more injured"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A pair of devastating 6.3-magnitude earthquakes rocked western Afghanistan<\/a> on Saturday, leaving scores of people dead, according to the country\u2019s national disaster authority.<\/p>\n

While the exact death toll remains unclear, local authorities have estimated there are at least 100 people dead and hundreds more injured. The United Nations initially provided a preliminary figure of 320 dead, though it later said they were working to verify the number.<\/p>\n

Mosa Ashari, the province\u2019s disaster management chief, later told reporters that \u201cmore than 1,000 injured women, children, and elderly citizens have been included in our records, and about 120 people have lost their lives<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs deaths and casualties<\/a> from the earthquake continue to be reported, teams are in hospitals assisting treatment of wounded and assessing additional needs,\u201d the World Health Organization in Afghanistan said on X, formerly known as Twitter. \u201cWHO-supported ambulances are transporting those affected, most of them women and children.\u201d<\/p>\n

The epicenter of the original magnitude 6.3 tremblors hit about 25 miles northwest of the region\u2019s largest city, Herat, near the border with Iran, at around 11 a.m. local time. It was followed by several aftershocks, including one with a 5.5 magnitude, the United States Geological Survey noted.<\/p>\n

Mohammad Abdullah Jan, spokesman for the country\u2019s national disaster authority, said four villages in the Zenda Jan district in Herat province were the hardest hit.<\/p>\n

The quakes, which lasted well over an hour, sent residents fleeing from buildings and homes, many of which were left damaged. They also knocked down phone lines, making it difficult for those separated from their loved ones to reconnect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were in our offices and suddenly the building started shaking,\u201d 45-year-old Herat resident Bashir Ahmad told Agence-France Presse. \u201cWall plasters started to fall down and the walls got cracks, some walls and parts of the building collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not able to contact my family, network connections are disconnected,\u201d he added. \u201cI am too worried and scared, it was horrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

With News Wire Services <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n