Death toll from Afghan quakes doubles to 2,000
Oct 09, 2023
Kabul [Afghanistan], October 9: The death toll from a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan rose sharply again on Sunday to more than 2,000, with nearly 10,000 injured, as rescue workers dug through razed villages for vanishing signs of life. More than 1,300 homes were toppled when Saturday's magnitude 6.3 quake - followed by eight strong aftershocks - jolted hard-to-reach areas 30 km northwest of the provincial capital of Herat, according to officials. In rural Zinda Jan district, dozens of households were reduced to jumbles of broken masonry, where makeshift rescue teams dug trenches in the hope of unearthing survivors.