Earthquake inflicts heavy losses on Afghanistan, India offers assistance – New Delhi Times

A powerful earthquake struck a rugged mountainous region in eastern Afghanistan at 1.30 a.m. on June 22, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more. Its impact was felt 300 miles away in Lahore, Pakistan, and even in India. The death toll has steadily risen to 1,150, including 120 children and 30 Pakistani tribesmen. Victims from mountainous, hard-to-reach areas have not yet arrived.

The epicenter of the 6.1-magnitude earthquake, which was later calculated on the Richter scale of 5.9, was in Jian District of Paktika Province, about 50 kilometers southwest of the city of Khost, causing extensive damage to public property. About 10,000 homes were partially or completely destroyed. This shallow earthquake originated at a depth of 10 kilometers but has become a canvas of death and destruction as the deadliest in Afghanistan in two decades. Bibi Hawa lost 19 members of her family! Villagers dug by hand among the ruins of their homes in search of survivors and bury the dead. Mourning was heard from every street.

Rescue difficulties: inaccessibility to the ground; Rescue efforts were hampered by rugged roads, torrential rain, rockslides and mudslides. The disaster came when Afghanistan was in the midst of a humanitarian and economic crisis, and “financially unable to help people to the extent required”. The Taliban’s hard-line Islamist policies – the subjugation of women and girls – led to their isolation. It has only a few airworthy planes and helicopters.

Major international agencies are still operating but have scaled back assistance programs in Afghanistan, where about 80% of the budget comes from foreign aid. The Taliban appeals to the international community to “increase” aid. Relief agencies such as Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross provide assistance.

International isolation has complicated relief efforts. Fewer aid organizations operate. Foreign governments will not trust the Taliban with money. Sanctions against the Taliban and their troubled relationship with Western countries have put donations to a standstill. The humanitarian response escalated in the first 72 hours, but lagged in scale and speed.

Health infrastructure: The scene is horrific. Many health care facilities suffer from a lack of resources. Due to the lack of female doctors in Khost province, many infected women could not be treated. Facilities in hospitals are very short.

Humanitarian aid: Despite the strained relationship with the Taliban, India sent 27 tons of necessities – family tents, blankets and other relief supplies – as humanitarian aid on two flights. Delhi sent a “technical team” to Kabul on June 23, as a further step towards reopening the Indian embassy there to be stationed at the embassy, ​​to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid. The Israeli Air Force flew into the earthquake relief zone. The second shipment of Indian relief has arrived in Kabul.

The UN has “fully mobilized” health teams, supplies of medicine, food, trauma kits and emergency shelter. The European Union is monitoring the provision of emergency assistance from the European Union. The British Red Cross will send food, medicine, housing, water and temporary shelter. The United States directed the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) and other federal government partners to respond appropriately. The local Red Crescent and UN agencies such as the World Food Program have sent food, tents and sleeping mats to Paktika and neighboring Khost province. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees sent shelter and household supplies and deployed staff to arrange shelters for the displaced and set up supply centers to transport aid from Kabul. Taiwan will donate $1 million for Afghan earthquake relief. Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates plan to send aid.

Aftershock: Two days later, on June 24, a second smaller earthquake of magnitude 4.3 struck the Ghayan region hard near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in eastern Afghanistan near the previous epicenter. It took five more lives and injured 11, accumulating more misery.

It is located in a tectonically active zone above several fault lines – the Chaman fault, the Hari-Rod fault, the central Badakhshan fault and the Darvaz fault – Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes. Earthquakes kill an average of 560 Afghanis annually.

Food crisis: More than a third of Afghanistan’s population cannot meet basic needs and the economy is suffering, as foreign aid and funds dried up when the Taliban seized power. Afghanistan called for more international aid. The United Nations estimates it is a “terrible economic situation.” About 93% of families in Afghanistan suffer from food insecurity. Afghans are not able to put food on the table.”

Image source: AP Photo

Written by Sujay Dhawan, Senior Editor

Twitter: @SujayDhawan

Email: [email protected]

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