5.9 magnitude earthquake kills more than 1,000 in Afghanistan | Pakistan | Bhaktika | Tremor | The world

Something powerful The quake affected rural and mountainous areas of eastern Afghanistan It was early Wednesday morning and caused 1,000 deaths and 1,500 injuries, a state news agency reported. Officials have warned that the number could rise further.

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake has shaken the region Registered near the Pakistan border It was still rare, but an earthquake of that magnitude could cause severe damage, especially in an area like this, Construction is poorly done and landslides are common. Experts say that The quake was just 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, Another factor that can increase the impact.

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This catastrophe is a great test for the leadership government TalibanWho came to power last year amid a tumultuous US exit from the longest war in its history, two decades after the fall of the militants following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Rescue workers arrived at the affected area by helicopter on Wednesday.But the response may be complicated by the fact that many international aid agencies have fled the country since the rise of the Taliban.

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That was explained by the Meteorological Center of neighboring Pakistan The quake was in the province of Afghanistan BhaktikaIt is located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the city Ghost. Building damage was reported in the coastal province, and the tremor was felt as far as the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

Footage taken in Bactica showed men carrying blankets to helicopters waiting to evacuate victims from the scene.. Others were treated on the spot, with one occupant sitting in a plastic chair near the remains of his house receiving fluids intravenously, while others lay on stretchers.. In other photos, residents saw the rubble of clay bricks and crumbling stone houses, as well as some falling roofs or walls.

The death toll from the Baghdad news agency coincides with the 2002 earthquake that struck northern Afghanistan, shortly after the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban government. Since 1998, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake and its aftershocks have killed at least 4,500 people in the far northeast.

In most parts of the world, an earthquake of this magnitude would not have caused such a catastrophe. Said Robert Sanders, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. But, in these cases, the number of victims usually depends on the geography, quality of construction and population density.

“Because it is a mountainous area, there are rocks and landslides that we will not find until they are reported later. Older buildings are in danger of collapsing”, He explained. “Because of how dense the area is in that part of the world, we have seen similar earthquakes in the past that have caused significant damage.”

The day before, Bhaktar CEO Abdul Wahid Rayan wrote on Twitter 90 houses were demolished in Bhaktikka Dozens more people are believed to be trapped in the rubble. The Afghan Red Cross sent 4,000 blankets, 800 tents and 800 kitchen cabinets to the affected area.He added.

In the capital, KabulPrime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akund called Emergency meeting at the Presidential Palace Coordinate relief efforts. For his part, Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, insisted on Twitter that aid agencies should send teams to the area.

“The answer is on the way”Ramis Alakbarov, the United Nations co-ordinator in Afghanistan, promised on Twitter.

In a statement, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed his condolences to the victims and said his government would help the people of Afghanistan.

In one district in the province of Coast alone, at least 25 people were killed and more than 95 were injured in the quake, local officials said.

In some remote parts of Pakistan Houses were damaged near the Afghan borderBut it was not immediately clear if they were caused by rain or by an earthquake, said Timur Khan, a spokesman for the local disaster management organization.

The epicenter was reported 500 kilometers (310 miles) away, with 119 million people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center.

Hilly Afghanistan And the region of South Asia in the foothills of the Hindu Kush, where Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, have long been vulnerable to catastrophic earthquakes.

In 2015, a powerful earthquake shook the northeastern part of the country, killing more than 200 people in Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. A similar 6.1 magnitude caused about 1,000 deaths in the north in 2002, while a magnitude 6.1 and subsequent aftershocks in 1998 killed at least 4,500 in the northeast.