United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stated that the recent earthquake in Afghanistan damaged and destroyed around 665 houses across Badakhshan, Bamyan, Panjshir, Parwan, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Samangan, and Takhar Provinces, Afghanistan based Khaama Press reported.
The organisation added that the earthquake in Badakhshan killed five people. In contrast, it injured 58 others, and “partners have deployed assessment and response teams to provide immediate relief to affected families,” OCHA said in a tweet on Wednesday. As per the Taliban-led Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan, more than four people were killed and about 80 others injured in the country’s Badakhshan, Takhar, and Laghman provinces.
The State Ministry for Natural Disaster Management under the caretaker Taliban regime reported that 63 houses had been destroyed and some cattle had been damaged or lost due to the powerful earthquake.
According to the official report, the damaged and destroyed houses were located in the Jurm district of Badakhshan province and were lost due to the collapse of the roofs of the houses, Khaama Press reported.
A powerful earthquake of 6.8 magnitude struck Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries on Tuesday. The earthquake’s epicentre was 40 Km to the south-Southeast of Jurm district in Afghanistan’s Hindukush Mountain in Badakhshan province, bordering Pakistan and Tajikistan, said US Geological Survey.
The north and northeast regions of the country are prone to disasters such as avalanches, landslides, earthquakes, and floods, according to Khaama Press.