. Earth Science News .
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Afghan quake survivors without food and shelter as aid trickles in
By Emmanuel PEUCHOT and Abdullah HASRAT
Gayan, Afghanistan (AFP) June 24, 2022

Shocked quake survivors wander through ruined Afghan villages
Ghurza, Afghanistan (AFP) June 23, 2022 - The rubble outline of collapsed walls and roofs is all that remains of the village where Zaitullah Ghurziwal lives, ravaged by a ruinous earthquake in Afghanistan that has left at least 1,000 people dead.

Survivors in Ghurza wander around in shock, looking for a place of shelter -- or to the sky in hope that aid will be delivered by aircraft.

"There are no blankets or tents... there's no shelter. People are lying on open ground," Ghurziwal tells AFP, pointing to the crumbled dwelling where he now holds out with six other families.

"We need food and water. Our entire water distribution system is destroyed. Everything is devastated."

Wednesday's 5.9-magnitude quake -- Afghanistan's deadliest in years -- struck hardest in rugged east Paktika province. In addition to damaging or destroying thousands of earthen homes and other structures, it downed mobile phone towers and power lines while triggering rock and mudslides which blocked mountain roads.

The disaster poses a huge logistical challenge for Afghanistan's new Taliban government, which has isolated itself from much of the world by introducing hardline Islamist rule that subjugates women and girls.

International aid agencies trying to help are also stretched thin.

Remote Ghurza is one of many small mountain villages in Bermal district, one of the wost-affected areas.

Aid is beginning to trickle into the valley -- a military helicopter seen flying overhead dropped food to hard-to-reach places and collected some injured to deliver them to hospital -- but an AFP team saw no United Nations presence on Thursday.

- 'Helpless' -

After the horror of the first hours, villagers have already dried their tears -- misfortune is well known in this area, one of the poorest in a country ravaged by humanitarian crises, neglect and decades of war.

On Wednesday the villagers buried about 60 people, and 30 more followed on Thursday.

"We didn't even have a shovel to dig with, no equipment, so we used a tractor," says Ghurziwal.

In the middle of a courtyard, his octogenarian mother, slightly injured, is lying on a bed, sheltered from the sun by a sheet.

The previous night children took refuge from the heavy rain in a wheel-less car.

Nawab Khan tells AFP he lost seven members of his family: his wife and six children.

Nearby, a tent is erected next to a levelled house, providing shelter for about 15 women and children.

Another elderly woman, wearing a floral red velvet dress and a long green shawl, lost four relatives.

"I buried them today," she says, giving her name as Zulfana.

Now, there is nothing to be done but wait for aid and rescuers to arrive.

"I feel so helpless, I don't have a single penny," she sighs.

Aid trickled to devastated villages in remote parts of Afghanistan Friday but thousands of people remain without food, shelter and water three days after the country's deadliest earthquake in decades.

Wednesday's 5.9-magnitude quake struck hardest in the rugged east along the border with Pakistan while people slept, killing more than 1,000 and leaving thousands homeless.

Entire villages have been levelled in some of the worst affected districts, where survivors said they were even struggling to find equipment to bury their dead.

"There are no blankets, tents... there's no shelter. Our entire water distribution system is destroyed. There is literally nothing to eat," 21-year-old Zaitullah Ghurziwal told an AFP team that reached his village in hard-hit Paktika province.

The area was still being roiled by aftershocks that were sending frightened locals scurrying from whatever shelter they had sought in badly damaged dwellings.

One aftershock early Friday killed five people, according to Maqbool Luqmanzai, director of health in Gayan district.

Aid was starting to trickle through in some areas. AFP saw seven trucks from the United Nations World Food Programme trundle into the village of Wuchkai Friday morning, 24 hours after leaving Kabul, to distribute tents and emergency rations.

Two Doctors Without Borders trucks also arrived with medical supplies.

Mohammad Amin Huzaifa, head of information for Paktika province, said heavy rain and floods were hampering efforts to reach those affected.

Communications have also been hit as the quake toppled mobile phone towers and power lines.

The earthquake struck areas already suffering the effects of heavy rain, causing rockfalls and mudslides that wiped out hamlets perched precariously on mountain slopes.

Officials say nearly 10,000 houses were destroyed, an alarming number in an area where the average household size is more than 20 people.

"Seven in one room, five in the other room, four in another, and three in another have been killed in my family," Bibi Hawa told AFP from a hospital bed in the Paktika capital Sharan.

At Wuchkai, a cemetery on a rise overlooking the village had 11 fresh graves -- all members of the same family.

Save the Children said more than 118,000 children were impacted by the disaster.

"Many children are now most likely without clean drinking water, food and a safe place to sleep," the international charity said.

- UN mobilises -

The disaster poses a huge logistical challenge for the Taliban government, which has isolated itself from much of the world by introducing hardline Islamic rule.

The aid-dependent country saw the bulk of its foreign assistance cut off following the Taliban takeover last August, and even before Wednesday's disaster the United Nations warned of a humanitarian crisis that threatened the entire population.

But the quake has prompted an outpouring of sympathy from abroad -- although many are wary of how any aid will be used.

"The aid distribution will be transparent," government spokesman Bilal Karimi told AFP, adding "many countries have supported us and stood with us".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the global agency has "fully mobilised" to help.

According to his office, refugee agency UNHCR has dispatched tents, blankets and plastic sheeting; the World Food Programme has delivered food stocks for about 14,000; and the World Health Organization has provided 10 tonnes of medical supplies sufficient for 5,400 surgeries.

Afghan government officials said Thursday that aid flights had landed from Qatar and Iran, while Pakistan had sent trucks carrying tents, medical supplies and food.

Even before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan's emergency response teams were stretched to deal with the natural disasters that frequently strike the country.

But with only a handful of airworthy planes and helicopters left since they returned to power, any immediate response to the latest catastrophe is further limited.

"We hope that the International Community & aid agencies will also help our people in this dire situation," tweeted Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban official.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

Afghanistan's deadliest recent earthquake killed 5,000 in 1998 in the northeastern provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan.


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Freedom and fear: the foundations of America's deadly gun culture
Washington (AFP) June 23, 2022
It was 1776, the American colonies had just declared their independence from England, and as war raged the founding fathers were deep in debate: should Americans have the right to own firearms as individuals, or just as members of local militia? As a landmark Supreme Court decision expanded gun rights Thursday, just weeks after a mass killing of 19 children in their Texas school, the debate rages on and outsiders wonder why Americans are so wedded to the firearms used in such massacres with appallin ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Afghan quake survivors without food and shelter as aid trickles in

UN urgently appeals for $110 mn for Afghanistan quake victims

Freedom and fear: the foundations of America's deadly gun culture

UN working to get shelter, trauma care to Afghan quake scene

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Shaping the future of purification

Chile workers end strike at world's largest copper producer

Workers strike at world's largest copper producer, Chile's Codelco

Cities of the future may be built with algae-grown limestone

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
US to work with Taiwan, Vietnam against illegal fishing

Drought hits Italy's hydroelectric plants

Norsk Hydro sued over alleged river contamination in Brazil

Oceans saved us, now we can return the favour

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Warming climate upends Arctic mining town

The treaty drawn up between the sheets

Russia and China eye NATO's 'Arctic Achilles heel'

Subpopulation of Greenland polar bears found

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Putin guarantees supply of fertilizers to Brazil

Ministers gather for food security conference in Berlin

Lockdown for Australian bees as pest detected near port

A new light in rice flowering

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Village life left in ruins after deadly Afghan quake

Dozens of Suriname villages await aid following unprecedented floods

7 million in 'desperate need' after Bangladesh floods

Afghan quake relief focus shifts to long term

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Niger's president hails progress against jihadists

People in Burkina exclusion zones given 14 days to leave

Mali strongman adopts electoral law, key to civilian rule

World Bank to provide war-torn Ethiopia with $715 mn

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Population bottlenecks that reduced genetic diversity were common throughout human history

Fossils found in the 'Cradle of Humankind' may be over a million years older

Famous Sterkfontein Caves deposit 1 million years older than previously thought

How humans evolved to get along









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.