Over 43,000 directly affected by Afghanistan's latest quakes: UN
Oct 18, 2023
Islamabad [Pakistan], October 18: The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that more than 43,000 people have been directly affected by the recent earthquakes across Afghanistan's western province of Herat.
In its update published late on Monday, OCHA said that Injil district is the worst-affected district, accounting for 53% of people affected.
Most of the villages there have been completely flattened. More than 90% of those killed are women and children, according to the UN.
People in the province are sleeping in open spaces outside their homes. On Monday, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called it a "tent city."
On October 7, a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake rocked western Afghanistan at a depth of around 10 kilometres, killing some 2,400 people, according to the latest figures by the Taliban-run government.
The UN puts the estimated death toll at 1,384 people.
So far, several aftershocks have hit the affected area. UN is appealing for $93.6 million to support the earthquake response.
Source: Qatar Tribune
