Another magnitude 6.3 earthquake hits Afghan’s Herat City

Barely one week after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Afghanistan city of Herat on October 7, a similar quake hit the city early Sunday morning.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the latest quake hit at 0336 GMT, 33 kilometres (20 miles) from Herat city, the capital of the western province, the same region where entire villages were flattened and over 1,000 killed by a series of tremors last week.

The USGS said a 5.5 magnitude aftershock also hit the area 20 minutes later, with tremors felt as far as 20 kilometres away.

“On October 7, another magnitude 6.3 quake and eight powerful aftershocks jolted the same part of Herat, toppling swathes of rural homes and killing over 1,000 people and injuring hundreds more,” the Survey group said.

“Days later, with thousands of terrified residents left without shelter and volunteers digging for survivors, another tremor of the same intensity killed one person and injured 130 others.

Read also: Another earthquake hits Afghanistan days after prior quake killed 2,400 persons

“More than 90 per cent of those killed in the quakes were women and children.”

“Women and children are often at home, tending to the household and caring for children, so when structures collapse, they are the most at risk,” UNICEF’s Herat-based field officer, Siddig Ibrahim, said while speaking on the latest quake.

“At least six villages in rural Zenda Jan district have been completely destroyed and more than 12,000 people affected by the tremors,” Ibrahim said.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now