Afghans Flee Western Region After Fresh Earthquake Kills Two

Herat, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Oct, 2023) A magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed two people in western Afghanistan Sunday, with damaged prisons emptied and residents fleeing a region where tremors have claimed at least 1,000 lives this past week.

Since October 7, a series of potent quakes have jolted Herat province, levelling whole villages, burying families and leaving thousands homeless as winter approaches.

Residents in the provincial capital Herat city had just begun returning to their homes, after days of sleeping outside fearing aftershocks, when the latest earthquake hit around 8:00 am (0330 GMT) on Sunday.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said two new fatalities and 154 injuries were registered at Herat Regional Hospital, where patients were being ferried on stretchers and treated outside under gazebos.

"The situation is very critical," MSF's Afghanistan Programme Head Yahya Kalilah told AFP. "In terms of psychology, people are panicked and traumatised."

"People are not feeling safe. I will assure you 100 per cent, no one will sleep in their house."

The latest quake's epicentre was 33 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of Herat city and was followed by aftershocks of magnitudes 5.4, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4, the US Geological Survey said.

Officials said more than 528 prisoners had been released from Herat province and neighbouring Badghis province because jails "were in danger of collapsing" from quake damage.

The Prisons Administration Authority said those freed included inmates who had served large portions of their sentences and showed signs of reform.