The videos of the powerful earthquake that left more than 1,000 dead in Afghanistan

a powerful earthquake shook a rural and mountainous area in eastern Afghanistan in the early hours of Wednesday and caused 1,000 deaths and 1,500 injuries, according to a state news agency. The authorities warned that the macabre number could increase.

Information about the magnitude 5.9 earthquake registered near the border with Pakistan was still scarce, but earthquakes of that magnitude can cause severe damage, especially in an area like this, where constructions are poorly done and landslides are common. Experts say that the epicenter was just 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, another factor that could increase the impact.

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The disaster is a major test for the government led by the Talibanwho came to power last year amid the chaotic US withdrawal from the longest war in its history, two decades after toppling the militia following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

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Earthquake kills more than 250 in Afghanistan, most devastating in Paktika province, 1250 injured so far in last night’s earthquake#earthquake#AfghanistanEarthquake #Afghanistan #Afghans pic.twitter.com/83n6fX7MBF

— Alee Baltee (@Alee_Journalist) June 22, 2022

Rescuers arrived in the affected area by helicopter on Wednesday.but the answer may be complicated, since many international aid agencies left the country after the rise of the Taliban.

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The Meteorological Department of neighboring Pakistan explained that the epicenter was in the Afghan province of Paktikaabout 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the city of Khost. Building damage was reported in Khost province, and tremors were felt as far away as the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

???????? At least 280 killed by magnitude-6.1 earthquake in Afghanistan hits two provinces (in southeastern Afghanistan) pic.twitter.com/GoIdTPjcgj

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Footage taken in Paktika showed men carrying victims on blankets to waiting helicopters to remove them from the scene.. Others were treated on the spot: One resident received intravenous fluids sitting in a plastic chair near the remains of his home, while others lay on stretchers.. In other photos, residents sifted through the clay bricks and rubble of collapsed stone houses, some with fallen roofs or walls.

#vivavideo6.1-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan kills at least 280 #earthquake pic.twitter.com/yzdv0uMRjS

— aghatahir (@aghatahir4) June 22, 2022

The death toll reported by the Bakhtar news agency matched that of an earthquake that struck northern Afghanistan in 2002, shortly after the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban government. They are the deadliest since 1998, when another magnitude 6.1 quake and subsequent aftershocks killed at least 4,500 in a remote area of ​​the Northeast.

In much of the world, an earthquake of this magnitude would not cause such great devastation, said Robert Sanders, a seismologist with the United States Geological Survey. But, in these cases, the number of victims usually depends on the geography, the quality of the constructions and the population density.

“Since it is a mountainous area, there are rockfalls and landslides that we will not find out about until they are reported later. Older buildings are prone to crumbling”, he explained. “Because of how condensed the area is in that part of the world, we have seen similar earthquakes in the past that caused significant damage.”

In this image released by the state-run Bakhtar News Agency, Afghans evacuate a person injured in an earthquake in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika province on June 22, 2022. (Bakhtar News Agency via AP)

Earlier in the day, Bakhtar CEO Abdul Wahid Rayan wrote on Twitter that 90 houses were destroyed in Paktika and that dozens of people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. The Afghan Red Crescent sent 4,000 blankets, 800 tents and 800 kitchen kits to the affected area.he added.

In the capital, KabulPrime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund called a emergency meeting at the presidential palace to coordinate relief efforts. For his part, Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, urged on Twitter that aid agencies send teams to the area.

“The answer is on the way”assured the United Nations coordinator in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, on Twitter.

In a statement, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif offered his condolences to the victims and said his government will provide aid to the Afghan people.

In this image taken from a video by the state-run Bakhtar news agency, Taliban fighters guard a helicopter carrying wounded in Gayan district, Paktika province, Afghanistan. (State Bakhtar News Agency via AP)

In one district in Khost province alone, the quake caused at least 25 deaths and more than 95 injuries, local authorities said.

In some remote areas of Pakistan damage to homes near the Afghan border was reportedbut it was not immediately clear whether they were caused by the rains or the quake, said Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the local disaster management agency.

The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center said the tremors were felt more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) away by 119 million people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

the hilly Afghanistan and the region of South Asia that lies at the foot of the Hindu Kush, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, have long been vulnerable to devastating earthquakes.

In 2015, a powerful earthquake shook the northeast of the country, killing more than 200 people in Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. A similar 6.1 magnitude caused about 1,000 deaths in the north in 2002, while in 1998 a 6.1 magnitude and subsequent aftershocks killed at least 4,500 in the northeast.

Source: Elcomercio