Many people have been killed when the quake hit western Afghanistan | Earthquake Stories

Many people have been killed and more than 700 homes destroyed in the western part of Badghis in the aftermath of a 5.3 magnitude earthquake.

At least 26 people have died in an earthquake in western Afghanistan, a government official said.

The victims died when roofs collapsed on Monday in Qadis state province west of Badghis, regional spokesman Baz Mohammad Sarwary told the media.

The epicenter was reported at 5.3 magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey.

“Nine women are among the 26 people killed in the earthquake,” Sarwary said, adding that four others were injured.

He said early rescuers had reached other areas affected by the heavy rains, but warned that the number of casualties could increase as Badghis, on the Turkmenistan border, is a mountainous region and one of the poorest and poorest areas in Afghanistan.

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake shook the region just two hours earlier.

Mullah Janan Saeqe, head of the Emergency Operations Center of the State Ministry for Emergency Affairs, confirmed the deaths and said more than 700 homes were damaged.

The quake also devastated Muqr residents in the region but many, including injured, were not found, he said.

Sarwary said the tremor was felt throughout the state. Some homes in Qala-e-Naw, the provincial capital, have cracked but no major damage or serious damage, he added.

According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, the quake was 30km (18.64 miles) deep.

Area where earthquakes occur

Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by a Taliban takeover country in August, when Western countries suspended international aid and access to foreign aid.

Qadis is one of the regions most affected by the severe drought, which has benefited little from international aid in the last 20 years.

The country is frequently affected by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountains, which are located near the junction of Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

Earthquakes can wreak havoc on homes and buildings in Afghanistan.

In 2015, about 280 people were killed when a 7.5-magnitude earthquake on the slopes of mountains that passed through South Asia, where many people died in Pakistan.

In the crash, 12 Afghan girls were crushed to death by an eagle as they tried to flee their collapsed school building.