Fresh earthquake hits Afghanistan, tremors of magnitude 6.3 felt near Herat: USGS

United States Geological Survey has reported that a fresh, 6.3 magnitude earthquake has hit northwest of Herat city.The fresh earthquake in Afghanistan has come on the heels of another one that killed thousands in the country.

The fresh quake hit at 0336 GMT, 33 kilometres (20 miles) from the city.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) has said that magnitude of the earthquake was 6.5. The ESMC said that the quake was at a depth of 10 km.

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Afghanistan was jolted by another magnitude 6.3 quake on October 7. Eight powerful aftershocks hit the same part of Herat. The quake toppled swathes of rural homes and killed over 1000 people and wounded hundreds more.

According to UNICEF, more than 90 per cent of those killed in these earthquakes were women and children.

The United Nations said more than 12,000 people were affected by the tremors.

The Taliban regime has struggled to provide shelter to people on large scale. International aid has largely dried up after the US-led coalition left Afghanistan in 2021.

Homes in rural Afghanistan are mostly made of mud and built around wooden support poles. There is little in the way of steel or concrete reinforcements.

Multi-generational extended families generally live under the same roof, meaning serious earthquakes can devastate communities.

(With inputs from agencies)

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