Afghanistan Earthquake: More Than 1,000 Dead As Villagers Dig For Survivors

Rescuers are digging for survivors of a powerful earthquake that flattened whole villages in Afghanistan, killing more than 1,000 people.The 6.3-magnitude quake struck Saturday morning in Herat province, a barren landscape dotted with mud brick homes.Villagers are still using shovels and bare hands to search for the missing - more than 500, according to the UN.Aid, delayed by blocked routes and communication lines being down, only started to trickle in on Monday.The quake hit Zinda Jan, a rural district some 40km from Herat city, where "100% of homes are estimated to have been completely destroyed," according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).Images from the villages show entire houses, which were too fragile to withstand such a quake, reduced to rubble."We came home and saw there was nothing left.

The area is also home to communities displaced by war and drought, making it difficult for the local administration to know exactly how many people have been living there.Ill-equipped hospitals have been struggling to accommodate the injured, who now number more than 1,600.

Many of them were sent to the Herat Regional Hospital, where teams from the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have been since Saturday."Fortunately, most of the patients arriving are non-emergency cases," says Prue Coakley, the acting country representative for MSF in Afghanistan.

"However, many of them do not have homes to return to, that is why many of them are remaining in the hospital while authorities look for alternative places for them to stay."She added that the hospital is crowded because there are also the usual patients who need medical care.

Several aid agencies have dispatched help, including the Afghan Red Cross Society, MSF, World Food Programme and UNICEF.

But the agencies say the cash-strapped country needs more aid.Afghanistan has been reeling from an economic crisis since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when aid given directly to the government was stopped.Few countries have pledged money since Saturday's quake.

China's Red Cross Society has offered $200,000 (£164,220) in emergency cash aid, Chinese media reported.Neighbouring Pakistan has said it was in contact with Afghan officials and will "extend all possible support to the recovery effort."Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes - especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range as it lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.In June last year, the province of Paktika was hit by a 5.9 magnitude quake which killed more than 1,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless.