Afghan Earthquake: 26 Killed After 5.3 Earthquake Hits Western Afghanistan

KABUL: On Monday 17 January, an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude hit the area of western Afghanistan that resulted in the death of at least 26 people.

The earthquake mainly occurred in the Qadis district located in the western province of Badghis, Afghanistan where people died as the roof of their houses suddenly collapsed.

According to sources among all the 26 deaths, four were reported as children and five were women. Four people got severely injured.

The earthquake magnitude is 5.3 as informed by the United States Geological Survey. The second shake of the earthquake with 4.9 magnitudes was experienced after 2 hours.

The sudden earthquake on Monday led to an extreme loss in life and property as many of the buildings were collapsed badly. During the quake, some people inside their residence managed to come out while some others failed and lost their lives.

The reason for death and the amount of damages caused by the quake is informed by the district governor Mohammad Saleh Purdel and a spoke person Baz Mohammad Sarwary.

Sarwary said that the first rescuers have reached a few of the affected places under heavy rainfall but also gave the warning that the quantity of dead people and injured people might increase as Badghis is one of the most underdeveloped areas in the country and it is also located in the mountainous province.

The head of the Emergency Operations Centre of the Ministry of State For Emergency Affairs, Mullah Janan Saeqe gave the confirmation about the death toll and also informed that more than 700 residences got damaged throughout the earthquake.

The earthquake occurred at the depth of 30 kilometers i.e. 18.64 miles as informed by European Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

The earthquake has also caused damages in the Maqr district located in the same province but the information related to the region is not yet known.

The shakings were also felt in other areas of the province as cracks occurred in some of the houses located in the provincial capital Qala-e-Naw but there were no big damages or severe injuries reported said Sarwary.

Qadis is regarded as one of the most affected regions in the case of natural calamities like this as it gets fewer benefits from international support since the gone 20 years.

Earthquakes in Afghanistan now seem to be frequent mainly in the Hindu Kush Mountain range that is located close to the junction of Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

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