Nearly 311 have been found dead in the earthquake that measured 7.5 on the Richter scale
South Asia: Ina gargantuan earthquake that rocked through parts of Afghanistan and adjoining Pakistan on Monday afternoon, the toll has approached almost 300, twenty-four hours later. Centered in the mountain ranges of Hindukush in north-east Afghanistan, 76 miles from Faizabad, the origin of the quake has been found to be 125 miles below the earth’s surface. Tremors were reportedly experienced in parts of India and Tajikistan as well.
Image: AP
Of the 260 reported casualties, a majority of 237 are known to be Pakistani citizens. Moreover, the toll numbers are likely to rise as there are several remote, unapproachable areas where communication has been cut-off and help has not arrived. In the Khyber Pantunkhwa province in Pakistan., 179 were reported dead, while 1,800 people were severely injured. Pakistani Prime minister, Nawaz Sharif has returned promptly from an international visit to the States. He visited the hit regions early on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has said that the government has requested aid agencies to help in the rescue operations. 74 people in the affected provinces are known to be dead, while about 2,000 are gravely injured. 2,500 homes have been destroyed. In a school stampede in the Takhar province, 12 schoolgirls have been found dead along with 25 other injured school children. Similarly, in Tajikistan, a stampede in a state university left many students wounded. The earthquake led to landslides; according to a witness, a huge landslide crashed into the Pakistani Hunza river. there were also witness reports from Gilgit and Baltistan of landslides blocking the Karakoram highway. Said a witnesses, ” Right after that we saw a major landslide. Some people say it was a glacier that came down, some people say it was a hill. It fell right in front of our eyes.” Geological researchers are still looking into the possibility of glaciers being instigated by the earthquake.
The casualties also include the death of 4 Indian nationals, in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi, wherein people were evacuated from schools and offices at the tremors. However, the Indian Embassy in Kabul has assured that no Indian nationals in Afghanistan are injured and that they are safe. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has taken pro bono action in the rescue efforts and has offered support to both Pakistan as well as Afghanistan in the same light. Stated the PM, “We stand ready for assistance where required, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
However, Pakistan has said that it does not intend to request international help, as it has the ‘required resources’ to undertake the relief operations. The USA has also offered supply kits and other forms of aid to the quake hit regions. More importantly, the Afghani Taliban has pledged complete help to the cause.
Image: Dailymail
Although the earthquake has caused large human and infrastructural losses to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan, geological analysts state that the impact of the quake was muffled due to the depth of the epicenter, by comparison to other earthquakes of the same intensity in other parts of the world. Furthermore, the Hindukush and surrounding regions are prone to such temblors, due to the tectonic movements of India and Eurasia. The two tectonic plates are known to be moving towards each other at the rate of 4-5cm per year.
The ongoing rescue efforts incorporate helicopters dropping survival packets as many of the regions are blocked by landslides and other rubble. The militaries of both nations are working hands-on. Amongst the most devastated areas are Swat Valley and areas around the Dir, Malakand and Shangla towns in the mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan and Badakshan in Afghanistan.
An amalgamation of volunteer rescue hunters, military men, government disaster management teams are working towards relief and are expected to receive support from the international community as well as the Taliban. This is second major earthquake in this year of 2015, coming after the enormous earthquake in Nepal this year, that killed 9,000 people.
Source: BBC
Tags: Afghanistan Earthquake Pakistan
