PNS | Islamabad
A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck western Afghanistan on Sunday, just over a week after strong quakes and aftershocks killed thousands of people and flattened entire villages in the same province.
The US Geological Survey said the latest quake’s epicentre was about 34 kilometres (21 miles) outside Herat, the provincial capital, and eight kilometers (five miles) below the surface. Save the Children said four people have died and that Herat Regional Hospital has received 153 injured.
Everything in the Baloch area of Rabat Sangi district has collapsed. Several villages have been destroyed, according to the aid group. Authorities have given lower casualty numbers. Sayed Kazim Rafiqi, 42, a Herat city resident, said he had never seen such devastation before with the majority of houses damaged and “people terrified.” Rafiqi and others headed to the hospital to donate much-needed blood.
