Earthquake claims 15 lives, injures 40 in west Afghanistan
Herat residents on the street after an earthquake.
At least 15 people have been confirmed dead and 40 others injured in earthquakes that rocked west Afghanistan's Herat, Badghis, Farah provinces and adjoining areas on Saturday.
The country's Natural Disaster Management Authority said in a statement that relatively strong earthquakes struck west of the country including Herat, Badghis and Farah with some aftershocks in the morning. Preliminary reports confirm 15 dead and 40 injured in Herat province.
The statement added that the number of casualties could be changed since no reports have been received from the Badghis and Farah provinces.
The tremor occurred at around 11:10am local time (0640 GMT), forcing people to come out of their houses, locals said.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.2 jolted Afghanistan on Saturday.
Numerous houses have been partially damaged or utterly destroyed in the quakes, the statement asserted.
Rescue teams have been sent to the affected areas, the statement said, adding provincial government officials have been instructed to coordinate their necessary efforts with the aid agencies to supply humanitarian assistance to the quake-affected families.
