Herat: 25 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in the 6.3-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan. The earthquake wreaked havoc in many other provinces, including the northwestern province of Herat, where a large number of lives and financial losses are expected as a result of strong and severe tremors. While dozens of houses have been completely or partially demolished.
The first powerful shock of the earthquake in Afghanistan was felt at around 11 o’clock local time due to which thousands of people came out of their homes, shops, plazas and offices and recited Kalma Tayyaba, Toba Istgifar and Allahu Akbar. After the initial shock, three more aftershocks were felt within an hour. After the earthquake occurred four times in one hour, people were panicked.
According to the American Seismological Center, the epicenter of the earthquake in Afghanistan was in Zindajan district, 40 km northwest of Herat city, and its intensity was recorded at 6.3 on the Richter scale, while the depth was only 14 km. After the earthquake, there were three aftershocks. Apart from the Afghan provinces of Badghis and Farah, these tremors were also felt in the Afghan capital Kabul, but the most damage is expected to reach Zindajan, Ghorian and Gulran districts of Herat province, while Zandjan is said to be the epicenter of the earthquake.
Nisar Ahmed Ilyas, the spokesman of the governor of Afghanistan’s Herat province, has expressed the fear of large-scale deaths due to the earthquake and confirmed the death of 25 people and said that 8 children are among the dead, while dozens of injured have been hospitalized. While according to domestic and international media, 15 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in Herat province so far, including mostly children and women.
According to some reports, a village has been wiped out in the affected district of Zindajan in Afghanistan, but it could not be confirmed immediately. It should be remembered that in June 2022, a devastating earthquake had wreaked havoc in the Afghan province of Paktika, located near the Pak-Afghan border, and due to the 5.9 magnitude earthquake, more than 1,000 people had died and thousands had become homeless.
