By John Ikani
An earthquake rocked western Afghanistan on Monday, killing more than 20 people and destroying hundreds of homes, local authorities said.
The shallow quake was magnitude 5.3, according to the US Geological Survey.
It shook the western province of Badghis, bordering Turkmenistan, in the afternoon, reducing brick homes to rubble.
The victims died when roofs of their houses collapsed in Qadis district in the western province of Badghis, spokesman for the province Baz Mohammad Sarwary told AFP.
“Unfortunately, our initial reports show that 22 people, including women and children, have been killed and four others injured,” said Baz Mohammad Sarwari, the director of Information and Culture of the Badghis provincial administration.
“The Mujahideen have reached to some of the affected areas, but Badghis is a mountainous province, the number of casualties might go up,” he said, adding that heavy rain was also lashing the area.
Mullah Janan Saeqe, head of the Emergency Operations Centre of the Ministry of State for Emergency Affairs, confirmed the death toll and said more than 700 houses had been damaged.
Afghanistan is in the grip of a humanitarian disaster, worsened by the Taliban takeover of the country in August, when Western countries froze international aid and access to assets held abroad.
The country is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates
Earthquakes can cause significant damage to poorly built homes and buildings in Afghanistan.
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