Taliban say 2,445 killed in Afghanistan earthquakes, death toll rising

(Patria) - More than 2,400 people have been killed in earthquakes in Afghanistan, the Taliban administration announced on Sunday, Reuters reported.

The quakes on Saturday hit the west of the country 35 km northwest of the city of Herat, with a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale, the US Geological Survey (USGS) announced.

They were among the deadliest earthquakes in the world this year, after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in February killed about 50,000 people.

Janan Sayeeq, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Disasters, told Reuters that the death toll had risen to 2,445, and the number of injured to "more than 2,000". Earlier, he said 9,240 people were injured. Sayeeq also said that 1,320 houses were damaged or destroyed. The death toll rose from the 500 previously reported by the Red Crescent on Sunday.

Food, drinking water, medicine, clothing, and tents were urgently needed for rescue and aid, Suhail Shaheen, head of the Taliban's political office in Qatar, said in a message to the media.
Medieval minarets in Herat suffered some damage, according to photos on social media, showing cracks and fallen tiles.

Surrounded by mountains, Afghanistan has a history of strong earthquakes, many of them in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan.

The death toll often rises as information arrives from more remote parts of the country, and aid and rescue operations are difficult to organize.