Difficulties in cooperating with the Taliban regime could lead to difficulties in international relief efforts in the disaster area.
10:20 • Updated 10:59 AM
Afghanistan has been shaken by a devastating earthquake early Wednesday morning.
At least 280 people have been reported dead and about 600 injured when buildings collapsed in the eastern part of the country near the Pakistani border. The matter was reported by the authorities and the state news agency Bakhtar.
However, data on the number of casualties are still unclear as rescue efforts continue in the area. At least 90 buildings are known to have collapsed and the ruins are thought to have been sacrificed. The quake happened early in the morning while people were still asleep in their homes.
According to the Meteorological Institute of Pakistan, the magnitude of the earthquake was 6.1. Its center was 44 kilometers from the city of Khost, and the quake occurred at a depth of 51 kilometers.
Authorities say at least 100 people died and 250 were injured in Paktika province alone. The local doctor says According to the BBC (switching to another service)that the majority of the victims have come from the Gayan and Barmal region. In Gayan, the entire village is said to have been completely destroyed.
The quake has also claimed lives in Khost and Nangarhar provinces.
The quake was also felt on the Pakistani side, for example in the capital Islamabad and even further east in Punjab province. However, no casualties or casualties have been reported on the Pakistani side, at least so far.
The Euro-Mediterranean Seismology Center (EMSC) said the earthquake was felt within a radius of more than 500 kilometers in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Relief work can be difficult
According to the state news agency Bakhtar, aid workers are currently moving to the area by helicopter.
“A severe earthquake shook four areas in Paktika province, killing and damaging hundreds of our compatriots and destroying dozens of houses,” a Taliban spokesman said. Bilal Karimi.
– We demand that all aid organizations send their troops immediately to avoid further disasters in the area, Karimi continued.
The Taliban took power in Afghanistan last August after U.S.-led troops withdrew from the country. After the change of power, several Western countries cut off humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
It is estimated that the Taliban regime is making aid work more difficult in this disaster as well.
In mountainous Afghanistan, at the crossroads of continental shelves, earthquakes occur relatively often. In 2015, more than 200 people died in a powerful earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Due to the poor building stock, a lot of people die in earthquakes. According to the UN, more than 7,000 Afghans have died in earthquakes in the last ten years.