ANI
22 Jun 2022, 17:07 GMT+10
Kabul [Afghanistan], June 22 (ANI): More than 1,000 people were killed in Afghanistan after a powerful earthquake hit the country on Wednesday, media reports said.
A severe earthquake struck in the early hours of this morning near the city of Khost in the southeastern part of the country. The most affected areas are in Spera District in Khost Province, and Barmala, Ziruk, Naka and Gayan districts in Paktika Province.
"We have over 1,000 dead and over 1,500 wounded. Many villages were destroyed," Amin Huzaifa, the head of the culture and information department of the Paktika province, told Sputnik.
The head of the Paktika department of information and culture, Mawlawi Huzifa, told TOLOnews that the earthquake occurred around 1:30 AM last night. He said that many of the victims are from the Giyan district of the province.
According to local officials, helicopter and rescue teams have arrived in the area.
Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that an emergency cabinet meeting was held today to discuss assistance for the people affected by the earthquake.
"In addition to helping the people affected by the earthquake, all relevant organizations were tasked to send rescue teams," he said.
Abdullah Abdullah, the former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation offered condolences to the people affected by the earthquake.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre was 44km from Khost city, and it measured 6.1 on the Richter scale. Search and rescue operations are ongoing and are being led by the de facto authorities.
The disaster comes as Afghanistan continues to struggle with a severe economic crisis since the Taliban took over, as US-led international forces withdrew following two decades of war.
A UN agency said Afghanistan had asked humanitarian agencies to help with rescue efforts, and teams were being dispatched to the quake-hit area.
"The UN and humanitarian country team in Afghanistan expresses deep sympathy to all people affected by this disaster. We will be issuing a flash update later today with further details on the situation and response," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a tweet.
The UN and humanitarian partners have been requested to support the de facto disaster management authority in assessing and responding to immediate needs. "Inter-agency assessment teams have already been deployed to a number of affected areas," it added.
Secretary General's Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov said UN us assessing the needs and responding in the aftermath of the earthquake last night.
"@OCHAAfg and @unafghanistan are assessing the needs and responding in the aftermath of the earthquake last night which has taken hundreds of lives. Our condolences to the families of the deceased, response is on it's way," Alakbarov tweeted. (ANI)Get a daily dose of The UK News news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to The UK News.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks weakened across the board on Tuesday, led by the tech sector once more. I would say that the largest...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Google One, Alphabet's subscription service that offers cloud storage and AI-powered features, has surpassed...
BEIJING, China: China's sales of heavy trucks could be dominated by electric vehicles by 2028, with battery-powered models potentially...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Apple has blocked access to the popular video game Fortnite on iPhones in the United States and through Epic Games'...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks struggled on Monday as a further downgrading of U.S. debt by Moody's sent the dollar sliding and Treasury...
PARIS, France: Richemont, the owner of luxury brands Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, posted a stronger-than-expected seven percent...
Diu (Daman and Diu) [India], May 20 (ANI): Hosts Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu had a golden start on Day 2 of the first...
Los Angeles [US], May 20 (ANI): The cast of 'Sherlock Holmes and the Twelve Days of Christmas' has been unveiled. Ahead of Sherlock...
Diu (Daman and Diu) [India], May 20 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday highlighted sports 'transformative force' and how...
New Delhi [India], May 19 (ANI): The 69th edition of the Ballon d'Or, football's most prestigious individual accolade, is scheduled...
More than 50 young diplomats from 20 countries attended the annual event in Kazan The Russian city of Kazan has hosted a forum of...
Diu (Daman and Diu) [India], May 19 (ANI): The inaugural Khelo India Beach Games 2025 (KIBG) at the Ghoghla beach in Diu got rolling...