At least 1,000 people have been killed and more than 1,500 injured after a deadly earthquake hit the Paktika and Khost provinces in Afghanistan on early Wednesday morning, announced Mohammad Amin Hudhaifa, Paktika’s head of Taliban Information and Culture.
The state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported that the powerful earthquake, measuring at 6.1 on the Richter scale, struck the Naki, Zirok, Barmal, and Gayan districts of the Paktika province in southeastern Afghanistan.
China mourns the deceased of the earthquake in Afghanistan and expresses our sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured. China is ready to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in light of its need. pic.twitter.com/3G43AIIz1L
— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) June 22, 2022
According to the United Nations’ (UN) deputy special representative to Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, at least 2,000 homes have been demolished in the region, where every household consists of seven or eight people.
Salahuddin Ayubi, an official from the Taliban’s Interior Ministry, said Paktika has suffered the most deaths, with 255; 25 were killed and 90 were injured in Khost. However, he revealed that the death toll is likely to increase, “as some of the villages are in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to collect details.” The Taliban’s Minister for Natural Disasters, Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, said the group is still investigating the total death toll.
I express my sympathy to the injured and those who have been affected by the earthquake in #Afghanistan, and I especially pray for those who have lost their lives and for their families. I hope that with everyone's help the suffering of the people can be alleviated.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 22, 2022
“Many people are still buried under the soil. The rescue teams of the Islamic Emirate have arrived and with the help of local people are trying to take out the dead and injured,” an anonymous health worker at a Paktika hospital revealed.
“The fear is that the victims will increase further, also because many people could be trapped under collapsed buildings,” noted Stefano Sozza, the Afghanistan country director of Italian medical aid group Emergency, which sent seven ambulances and staff to areas near the quake zone.
In this respect, Loretta Hieber Girardet from the UN’s disaster risk reduction office said efforts to provide aid would be extremely difficult due to the terrain and weather. “The roads are poor even at the best of times so having a humanitarian operation put in place is going to be immediately challenged by the lack of easy access to the area,” she stressed, adding that rain, combined with the tremor, created a further risk of landslides for humanitarian workers.
My heart goes out to the people of Afghanistan following the devastating earthquake which has claimed hundreds of lives.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) June 22, 2022
The @UN is fully mobilized & our teams are on the ground, assessing needs & providing initial support. pic.twitter.com/LFrNKVxPpS
However, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said aid teams have been fully mobilised and are assessing the needs and providing primary support. “We count on the international community to help support the hundreds of families hit by this latest disaster. Now is the time for solidarity,” he said in a statement. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has deployed medical teams to the affected region, too.
The earthquake occurred about 44 kilometres to the southeast of the Khost province near the Pakistani border at around 1:30 am local time, as per seismologists. It was also felt in parts of Pakistan and India. The death toll reported by the Bakhtar news agency is equal to that of a quake in 2002 in northern Afghanistan.
The Supreme Leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, who made a rare appearance to convey his condolences, said he was “shocked” to learn about the tragedy, adding, “Hundreds of residences have been destroyed and casualties are likely to rise.” He urged the international community and humanitarian organisations “to help the Afghan people affected by this great tragedy and to spare no effort.”
A statement released by Akhundzada informed that the State Ministry for Disaster Management and all relevant officials, governors, and other Afghans have been “instructed to use all available means to reach the affected areas, to pull out the martyrs and the wounded from under the rubble, to transport and treat the wounded, and provide urgent assistance to homeless and vulnerable families and take necessary measures.”
The devastation in Afghanistan following the magnitude 6.1 earthquake is heartbreaking.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) June 22, 2022
My condolences to the people of Afghanistan & the Australian-Afghan community, who have lost so many brothers and sisters today.
Australia will work with partners to respond to this crisis.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister (PM) Mohammad Hassan Akhund called for an extraordinary meeting at the presidential palace and announced 100 million afghanis ($1.1 million) for the families affected by the natural calamity. “In addition to helping the people affected by the earthquake, all relevant organisations were tasked to send rescue teams,” Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said.
Deputy Minister of State for Disaster Management Sharafuddin Muslim also declared that the government will pay 100,000 afghanis ($1,118) for the those who were killed and 50,000 afghanis ($559) for those who were injured.
In this regard, the Defence Ministry has sent seven helicopters to transport the wounded to military and civilian hospitals, reassuring the victims that no effort will be spared to conduct rescue operations. Officials of 203 Mansoori Corps disclosed that 100 people have been airlifted to the Paktika Provincial Hospital so far.
“To rescue the people, the rescuing team, health officials and other officials have gone to the area and cash aid has also been sent to the area,” Abdul Nafay Takor, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior Affairs, noted.
However, according to the locals, five helicopters arrived eight hours after the incident, while the rescue team came about 11 hours later.
In fact, Minister Muslim admitted that it was “very difficult” to tackle the situation. To this end, he pleaded for foreign aid, saying, “When such a big incident happens in any country, there is a need for help from other countries.”
The international community is wary about dealing with the Taliban since it took over the country last August. The Taliban is not recognised as the legitimate government of Afghanistan by antry country and aid is sent cautiously due to the fear that it will finance the Taliban’s abuses. However, more than 60% of the 38 million Afghani residents are reliant on international aid to survive.
As per Shelley Thakral, the spokesperson for the UN World Food Program in Kabul, the disaster “will only add to the immense humanitarian needs in Afghanistan, and it really has to be all hands on deck to make sure that we really limit the suffering that families, that women and children are already going through.”
The earthquake in Afghanistan is a great tragedy, adding to an already dire humanitarian situation. We grieve for all the lives lost and the hardships Afghans continue to face. The U.S. is working with our humanitarian partners to send medical teams to help those affected.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 22, 2022
The humanitarian agencies that are still operating in the country, including UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), quickly sent supplies to the affected areas. “How much more can the people of Afghanistan take? On top of so much hardship already, another devastating earthquake claimed the lives of hundreds of people… UNICEF is on the ground supporting those in need,” Sam Mort, Chief of Communication, Advocacy and Civic Engagement at UNICEF, said.
Furthermore, Pakistan assured that it will send food, tents, blankets and other essentials, with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif saying, “Relevant authorities working to support Afghanistan in this time of need.”
Iranian media reported that Mohammad Hassan Nami, the head of Iran’s Crisis Management Organization, stated that Tehran is prepared to help earthquake victims in Afghanistan, along with the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Additionally, the Iranian embassy in Kabul declared that two aeroplanes carrying humanitarian aid will be sent to the country.
Deeply saddened at the news of the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan today. My deepest condolences on loss of precious lives.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 22, 2022
India stands by the people of Afghanistan in their difficult times and is ready to provide all possible disaster relief material at the earliest.
India, too, expressed their sympathy towards Afghanistan with Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi saying, “We share the grief of the people of Afghanistan and remain committed to providing assistance and support in this hour of need.”
Likewise, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock tweeted that Germany will “provide humanitarian aid wherever possible,” while United States (US) President Joe Biden has directed the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other federal government partners to assess their response options.