- Ali Hamadani and Thom Poole
- BBC correspondent
image source, AFP
“Some helicopters came to help, but it is not understood what to do other than lift the corpses.”
This is the experience of the people of Afghanistan who suffered a strong earthquake on Wednesday. Hundreds of people have lost their lives due to the earthquake.
The quake struck at midnight on Tuesday. At that time most people were sleeping at home.
Rescue workers are digging debris with their bare hands in some areas to help reach the affected areas. Getting to the rural areas of eastern Afghanistan is not easy. As the picture becomes clear, the death toll is expected to increase.
Ahmed Noor says: “Shortly after the earthquake struck at 1.30pm, I was scared. I tried to find my friends. Some of them lost their relatives. Some are fine, but their houses collapsed. “.
“Ambulance sirens are heard everywhere. I talked to people. They were very upset. They lost their loved ones. They are in very poor condition.”
One journalist said, “Wherever you go, you will hear the cries of those who have lost their loved ones.”
An image obtained by the BBC shows a three- or four-year-old girl covered in dust, standing in front of her dilapidated house. She is terrified and still doesn’t know where the rest of her family is, in what conditions. The BBC is trying to gather more information about the status of this girl.
Hospitals in Afghanistan are already in poor condition
Alem Wafa, 49, has arrived in Paktika province to help rescue people trapped under the rubble.
He said: “There are no government workers here to help, but people from nearby towns and villages come here to rescue the victims.”
“I myself came here this morning and so far I have removed 40 bodies. Most were children, very young.”
The people of Afghanistan are already facing difficulties on many fronts. Poverty is at its peak and the country has been plagued by violence for decades. Last year, when the Taliban seized power in the country, many countries also stopped giving aid to Afghanistan for development.
Afghanistan know about
- Taliban The command of Afghanistan is in the hands of
- aUS Army has 20 years ago to the Taliban retired from powerit was
- last year in August the radical Taliban Afghanistan once again took power
- Countries since the Taliban took power severe food crisis struggling with
Hospitals damaged by the earthquake
After the facilities already in ruins, it is now considered almost impossible to recover from this situation.
Doctors and nurses are also among the victims of the quake, a Gyan district doctor told Paktika.
“Even before the earthquake, we didn’t have enough facilities and space for people and how little we had, it was also destroyed by the earthquake. I don’t know how many of our allies are still alive.”
Aid agencies are trying to help, but poor communication and rain have added to the challenges. It is now focusing on providing food, medicine and emergency shelter to the needy.
UNICEF Sam Mort said: “We have sent our mobile and health and nutrition teams to the affected districts so they can give first aid to the injured.”
He said: “We have sent trucks with hygiene kits, blankets, tents and tarpaulins to help, but right now the rain is becoming an obstacle in their path. Due to the rain, they are also making it difficult. rescue tasks “.
“And all this is happening to people who are already starving, suffering from poverty, disease and drought.”
“It’s not a strong population.”
image source, Getty Images
Difficult communication due to mobile tower damage
The Taliban are calling for help from the international community
The Taliban have called for help from the international community amid massive devastation following a magnitude 6.1 earthquake. So far more than a thousand people have lost their lives due to this earthquake and at least 1,500 people have been injured.
Countless people buried under the ruins are still afraid.
Paktika province in Afghanistan has been hardest hit by the quake. The United Nations is also struggling to help here.
Due to heavy rains and lack of resources, it has become difficult to reach this area.
Earthquake survivors told the BBC that villages near the epicenter were completely destroyed and roads and mobile towers torn down.
The worst earthquake in two decades has become the biggest challenge for the Taliban.
The quake occurred 44 km from the city of Khost and its tremors were also felt in parts of Pakistan and India.
Abdul Kahar Balkhi, a senior Taliban official, said: “The government is not able to provide the people with the financial help they need.”
“Aid needs to be increased because it was a horrible earthquake that people didn’t see for decades,” he said.
image source, EPA