Over 800 Die In Afghanistan Earthquake Disaster

The Taliban authorities on Monday, 1 September, 21025 confirmed that over 800 people lost their lives after a strong earthquake and multiple aftershocks collapsed homes onto sleeping families in a remote, mountainous region of the country.
The authorities , who confirmed that rescue operations have commenced on Monday, said he 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck just before midnight, rattling buildings from Kabul to neighbouring Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
According to them, more than 1.2 million people likely felt strong or very strong shaking, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), which recorded at least five aftershocks throughout the night.
Casualties and destruction swept across at least five provinces.
Near the epicentre in eastern Afghanistan, around 800 people were killed and 2,500 injured in remote Kunar province alone, chief Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
Another 12 people were killed and 255 were injured in neighbouring Nangarhar province, while 58 people were injured in Laghman province.
In Wadir village in the hard-hit district of Nurgal, dozens of people joined the effort to pull people from the rubble of destroyed or severely damaged homes more than 12 hours after the initial earthquake.
The epicentre was about 27 kilometres (17 miles) from the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, according to the USGS, which said it struck about eight kilometres below the Earth’s surface.
Such relatively shallow quakes can cause more damage, especially since the majority of Afghans live in low-rise, mud-brick homes vulnerable to collapse.
Some of the most severely impacted villages in remote Kunar provinces “remain inaccessible due to road blockages”, the UN migration agency warned in a statement .
The Taliban authorities and the United Nations mobilised rescue efforts, with the defence ministry saying at least 40 flight sorties had so far been carried out.