Earthquake Relief Efforts in Afghanistan: Time Running Out for Survivors
As rescue teams continued their efforts to extract bodies from the rubble left by this week's earthquakes in Afghanistan, time is of the essence for survivors. International aid agencies are warning that funds allocated for food, shelter, and medicine are dwindling, leaving a bleak future for those affected.
The Taliban government announced that search operations continued late into Wednesday night in the eastern mountainous regions hit by the earthquake. New bodies were found, bringing the death toll to over 1,457, although the exact figure has not yet been established.
"Everything we had was destroyed," said a survivor in the hardest-hit province of Kunar. "Our house collapsed, and we lost all our belongings and property. We only have the clothes we're wearing."
The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 6, was one of the most violent to hit Afghanistan in recent years. Occurring at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, it caused significant damage and destruction in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar on Sunday.
A second earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5, which occurred on Tuesday, triggered panic and hindered rescue operations by causing rockslides and cutting off roads to isolated villages.
According to authorities, nearly 3,400 others were injured, and over 6,700 houses collapsed. The UN warned that the death toll could still rise, as many people are still trapped under the rubble, and time is running out to find survivors.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies stated that humanitarian needs are "enormous and increasing at a rapid pace." Citing preliminary figures, it added that "up to 84,000 people have been directly or indirectly affected, with thousands displaced."
