• At least 26 were killed in the Afghanistan earthquake

    International
    At least 26 were killed in the Afghanistan earthquake
    Digital Desk: A severe earthquake has hit western Afghanistan on Monday. According to officials, around 26 individuals have been killed in the earthquake. 

    Sources stated that the deceased individuals were under the roof of their houses when the earthquake occurred. After the earthquake, the building collapsed, taking the lives of several. 

    The tragic incident took place in Qadis district in the western province of Badghis. According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake was of magnitude 5.3.

    Moreover, there were five women and four children, among those 26 killed in the earthquake. Moreover, four persons were injured in the incident. 

    A spokesman for the province, Baz Mohammad Sarwary, stated that the first saviours had reached some of the affected regions under heavy rain. However, they have warned that losses could rise as Badghis, connecting Turkmenistan, is a mountainous region and one of Afghanistan’s most impoverished and underdeveloped areas.

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    A second earthquake, at magnitude 4.9, hit the spot two hours after the first occurrence. Mullah Janan Saeqe, chief of the Emergency Operations Centre of the Ministry of State for Emergency Affairs, affirmed the casualty toll and stated that more than 700 houses had been damaged.

    The earthquake further damaged the residents of the Muqr district in the area. However, there are still no exact reports on the casualties from the area.

    Sarwary additionally stated the tremors were felt across the province. Some residences in Qala-e-Naw, the regional capital, suffered damages but no significant damages or overall injury.

    Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, around the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

    In 2015, approximately 280 individuals were killed when a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake centered in the peak range pulled across South Asia, with most of the casualties in Pakistan.