2023-10-09 17:34:52
Among victims of Afghanistan’s recent earthquake with serious injuries, two-thirds are women and children, the head of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) emergency response in the country said on Monday.
Published on: 09/10/2023 – 19:34
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In search of survivors, villagers and volunteers continue desperately on Monday October 9 to clear the rubble of homes destroyed by the powerful earthquake which killed more than 2,400 people in western Afghanistan. Victims, who are mainly women and children, alert the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency response in the country.
The earthquake that struck the country on Saturday left more than 2,400 dead and more than 2,000 injured, according to the ruling Taliban. This is one of the deadliest earthquakes this year, following those in Turkey and Syria which left more than 50,000 dead.
“The earthquake occurred around 11 a.m. when men were outside the houses, so the majority of injured and dead are women and children who were inside the houses at that time “there,” Dr Alaa Abouzeid of the WHO told Archyde.com in a video interview.
“Two thirds of the seriously injured people admitted to the hospital that I saw yesterday are children and women,” he added, referring to the city of Herat to which he visited the following the earthquake. He said he was “devastated” to see the number of children hospitalized in critical condition.
Excavations continue
At the same time, trucks filled with food, water and blankets reached isolated villages on Monday, regarding 30 kilometers northwest of the city of Herat, the most severely affected by the 6.3 magnitude earthquake and the eight strong followingshocks which hit the region on Saturday. Volunteers come out, equipped with picks and shovels, still animated by the slight hope of being able to save someone.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 11,000 people from 1,655 families were affected by the earthquake and its followingshocks. And the UN said “100% of houses” in 11 villages were completely destroyed. .
The Taliban, who regained power in August 2021, will face a major logistical challenge: rehousing residents as winter approaches. Most rural houses in the country are made of sun-dried mud bricks and wooden support posts. Several generations generally live under the same roof.
The authorities have complicated relations with international humanitarian organizations. They banned women from working for the UN and NGOs, making it difficult to assess the needs of families in the most conservative parts of the country.
Save the Children spoke of “a crisis on top of another crisis”. According to its country director, Arshad Malik, “the extent of the damage is terrifying. The number of people affected by this tragedy is truly overwhelming.”
This new tragedy comes at a time when Afghanistan is already suffering from a serious humanitarian crisis, with the widespread withdrawal of foreign aid since the return to power of the Taliban. The province of Herat, which has 1.9 million inhabitants according to World Bank data, has also been hit for years by a drought which has paralyzed many agricultural communities already plagued by countless difficulties.
Afghanistan frequently experiences earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the junction between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. In June 2022, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake left more than a thousand dead and tens of thousands homeless in the poor province of Paktika (southeast).
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