Afghans Start Cleaning After 27 Earthquakes That Killed 27 People
JAKARTA - North Afghans began cleaning operations on Tuesday after a 6.3-scale Richter earthquake that killed 27 people and injured nearly 1,000 people.
The earthquake occurred near the town of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan in the early hours of Monday, which also damaged the city's historic Blue Mosque.
Although rare epicenters make the death toll lower than previously feared.
About 956 people were injured, according to the latest data from the Afghan Ministry of Public Health.
Hundreds of houses were completely or partially destroyed, according to the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), a figure that aid groups say is worrying ahead of Afghanistan's winter, as temperatures drop below freezing.
Reported by Reuters, on Tuesday, November 4, residents in Tangi Tashqurgan, an area close to the epicenter, excavated debris and strengthened the affected buildings.
Afghans excavated the rubble after a deadly earthquake hit the country's northern region
Mohammad Yasin, a local shop owner, said dozens of buildings were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake.
"If you go into shops, you're afraid the shops will collapse at any time, maybe now or in 10 minutes," he said.
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The disaster is the latest challenge for the Afghan Taliban government, which has grappled with various crises including an earthquake in August that killed thousands of people in the country's eastern region, a sharp decline in foreign aid, and the mass deportation of Afghan refugees by neighboring countries.
The United Nations has pledged joint aid with India, which seeks to disburse ties with the Taliban government in Afghanistan which is still subject to sanctions from many Western countries.
China said it would also offer assistance.
Surrounded by steep mountains, Afghanistan is prone to various natural disasters, but the earthquake there is the deadliest, killing an average of about 560 people every year and causing annual damage estimated at $ 80 million.