At least 320 killed in earthquakes in Afghanistan, says UN

The death toll has risen quickly from the strong earthqakes in western Afghanistan

Residents come out onto a street after an earthquake rocked the city of Herat (Xinhua/Shutterstock)

At least 320 people have died in strong earthquakes which struck northwestern Aftghanistan on Saturday, the United Nations has said.

Two 6.3-magnitude quakes struck an area 25 miles northwest of the city of Herat, and were followed by four large aftershocks, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

Crowds of people fled buildings after the first quake struck at around 11am local time. The United Nations has issued a death toll, saying at least 320 have been killed.

“We were in our offices and suddenly the building started shaking, and wall plasters started to fall down and the walls got cracks, some walls and parts of the building collapsed,” 45-year-old Bashir Ahmad was quoted as saying by AFP.

“I am not able to contact my family, network connections are disconnected. I am too worried and scared, it was horrifying,” he said.

The USGS was quoted by AFP as saying: “Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response.”

Several aftershocks measuring 5.5, 4.7, 6.3 and 5.9 struck the country after the first earthquake. This comes after a 4.7-magnitude earthquake hit Fayzabad in Afghanistan on 3 October.

At least 13 people died and nearly 300 were injured after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan and Pakistan in March this year.

The rugged terrain of Afghanistan is prone to seismic activity due to the collision of the Indian tectonic plate with the Eurasian plate to the north.

Over 200 people in Afghanistan and neighbouring northern Pakistan were killed in 2015 when a devastating earthquake struck Afghanistan’s northeast.