According to a Taliban official who spoke to the BBC, a strong earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has left at least 1,000 people dead and 1,500 injured.
Pictures of landslides and destroyed mud-brick dwellings in the region of Paktika caused the Taliban to request foreign assistance in the rescue operation.
As people slept, the earthquake occurred shortly after 1:30 am (21:00 GMT Tuesday).
The magnitude 6.1 earthquake, which occurred at a depth of 51 kilometers, destroyed hundreds of homes (32 miles).
The Taliban, an Islamist movement that reclaimed power last year after the Western-backed government fell, face a formidable task as a result of the deadliest earthquake to hit Afghanistan in 20 years.
The earthquake occurred roughly 44 kilometers from the city of Khost, and Pakistan and India both reported feeling vibrations. Both Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, reported feeling the earthquake.
According to Sam Mort from Unicef’s Kabul office, Taliban leaders asked the UN to “help them in terms of identifying the needs and reacting to those affected.”
Nigel Casey, the UK’s special envoy to Afghanistan, stated that his country was in contact with the UN and “prepared to participate in the international response.”
In Afghanistan, where many rural houses are unstable or poorly constructed, earthquakes can cause major damage.
Locals revealed horrifying pictures of death and devastation in the wake of the late-night earthquake to the news agency Reuters.
Alem Wafa, a local farmer, sobbed as he told the BBC that official rescue crews had not yet arrived at one of the most affected villages, rural Gyan.
“Very little children” made up the majority of the deaths, he claimed. The farmer stated that the neighborhood hospital simply lacked the resources to handle such a catastrophe.
Even before the Taliban took control of the country, Afghanistan’s emergency services were understaffed and underequipped to handle natural disasters.
A doctor in Paktika told the BBC that medical professionals were among the casualties.
Another local journalist in the area told the BBC that communication has been challenging since the earthquake because cell phone tower damage has made it possible for the death toll to increase even further.
According to a local doctor, the majority of the casualties to date have occurred in the Paktika regions of Gayan and Barmal. A complete village in Gayan was reportedly destroyed, according to the local media outlet Etilaat-e Roz.
According to BBC Urdu, there were no immediate reports of fatalities or serious damage in Pakistan.
Despite efforts by relief organizations to strengthen some buildings over the years, the impoverished nation has struggled to develop its defenses against earthquakes and other natural disasters due to decades of conflict.
Due to its location in a tectonically active area and its proximity to a variety of fault lines, including the Chaman fault, the Hari Rud fault, the Central Badakhshan fault, and the Darvaz fault, Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes.
