Two powerful aftershocks shook eastern Afghanistan within a span of 12 hours, according to the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ), triggering fears of more deaths and destruction on Friday in a region where about 2,200 people have died in quakes over four days.
These aftershocks follow two earthquakes that have already devastated the South Asian nation, which is burdened by war, poverty, and dwindling aid. By Thursday, the Taliban administration estimated 2,205 deaths and 3,640 injuries.
A Reuters witness reported continuous aftershocks in Nangarhar province, with details of the damage still being collected.
Friday’s earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.4, struck the southeast at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to GFZ, just hours after a late-night tremor on Thursday.
The week’s first earthquake, with a magnitude of 6, occurred just minutes before midnight on Sunday. It was one of Afghanistan’s deadliest, causing widespread damage in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces when it struck at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).
A second earthquake of magnitude 5.5 on Tuesday caused panic and disrupted rescue efforts as it sent rocks sliding down mountains and cut off roads to remote villages.
With houses constructed mostly of dry masonry, stone, and timber, some families chose to stay in the open rather than return home as a precaution against aftershocks.
Naqibullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the health department in Nangarhar province, stated that the epicenter of Thursday’s earthquake was in the district of Shiwa near the border with Pakistan, with initial reports of damage.
The earlier quakes flattened villages in both provinces, destroying more than 6,700 homes, and rescue workers retrieved bodies from the rubble on Thursday.
Survivors in the quake-prone region have been left without basic amenities, as the United Nations and other agencies warn of a critical need for food, medical supplies, and shelter.
Earthquakes mainly occur in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
