What do we know and what isn’t we

The 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous in the eastern region of Afghanistan, and the authorities said hundreds of people were killed.

The earthquake struck at 23:47 local time on Sunday (19:17 GMT) with its epicenter of 27 km (17 miles) from Jalalabad, the fifth largest city in the Eastern Naghar province.

He was inellerable – only 8 km deep – and felt 140 km in the capital, Kabul, as well as in the neighboring Pakistan. Hundreds of people are thought to have died.

The original earthquake was accompanied by a number of great jolts, which were believed to have caused further death.

Details are still arising, and it can be some time before the degree of damage and the number of deaths will be known.

Initial reports indicate significant casualties and widespread damage in the distant Western Nangarhar and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan.

These mountainous areas are extremely difficult to reach even in the best of times, which impedes salvation and help.

More than 800 people are afraid of the dead, said the Taliban Interior Ministry, but warns that there is still no obvious death. There are reports that more have been injured.

The BBC said the road leading to the epicenter was blocked from the landslide, so the Taliban government uses helicopters to bring people.

Several government sources said dozens of houses were buried under the rubble. The assistance of international organizations was requested.

According to Salam Al Janabi from the UN Children’s Charitable Charity, access to the worst areas remains blocked, but hundreds of homes were destroyed.

Organization for World Vision’s assistance says that all villages in the Chavka and Nurgal regions – as in the Kunar province – were completely or partially destroyed, with houses cut from dirt, and from dirt, and seizure of residents under the rubble.

The official in Nurgal told the AFP news agency that many of those who live in the villages affected by the earthquake have returned to the country from Iran and Pakistan in recent years. Both countries have stepped up with more than a million Afghan deportation efforts – Many of whom initially escaped from the country to avoid violence.

The earthquake came after the outbreaks of the flash, which left at least five dead, reported local media. The flood that caused landslides and damaged infrastructure was also temporarily disturbed by the movement between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

As we have already reported, the nature of the terrain means that it is difficult to access and there is a limited connection – that is, it will take longer to get updates about the situation. There may also be infrastructure damage, which is even more difficult to reach the affected areas.

During the previous major earthquakes, when access to the affected areas was created, the death toll splashed.

However, there are other factors that interfere with both our ability to receive accurate information about the situation and in obtaining assistance from the affected areas.

Since August 2021, the country has been under the control of the Taliban, whose government does not recognize much.

The return of the brutal Islamist group to power caused the outcome of international journalists, and organizations such as the BBC have been pulled out by many employees from the country.

Several assistance and NGOs have also suspended their work in Afghanistan – that is, there are fewer ways to check what is going on.

However, there are no restrictions on international assistance.

According to the International Rescue Committee, Afghanistan was pushing for economic collapse when the Taliban took over and more than 23 million Afghans need humanitarian assistance.

Most foreign donations in Afghanistan also suspended international sanctions dating back to when the Taliban was in power in the 1990s, and the liberations were made for humanitarian aid.

About 80% of the Afghan budget came from foreign donors to the absorption of the Taliban. This finances almost all the healthcare that has since collapsed.

The main hospital of Jalalabad is the largest medical institution, near the epicenter – already overloaded, being at the center of intersection, so that tens of thousands of Afghans are deported from neighboring Pakistan.

Financial assets of Afghanistan abroad (mainly conducted in the US) were also frozen while The USA Freezes Freezes Agency for International Development (USAID) Earlier this year, it significantly affected the help.

There is anxiety that the health and safety of women and girls can be at greater risk of the restrictions on their Taliban government.

They “continue to restrict their access to rescue services, leaving them (women and girls) among the most vulnerable earthquake after the earthquake,” said Graham Davison, head of the Afghan branch of international aid.

Kunar is a very conservative area, so for cultural reasons, women can be treated later. They are afraid that some women may have decided to stay or wait when their families are taken to the hospital.

A powerful earthquake in the province of Pactic 2022 saw that the number of victims in hospitals increased two days after the earthquake.

It is also important to note that there are no rescuers on Earth.

Afghanistan is very prone to earthquakes because it is on the top of a number of malfunction lines where Indian and Eurasian plates are found.

Earthquakes happen when sudden movement on the tectonic plates that enter the earth’s surface. Fractures called malfunction lines arise where the plates face.

In 2023 a number of earthquakes in Gerat province killed more than 1000 people. In 2022, Province Pactica was impressed by an earthquake Which also killed more than 1000.

Smooth earthquakes are often found in the country and are more devastating, as seismic waves have a less distance to travel to the surface of the earth and thus retain most of their strength.

Buildings in Afghanistan are also usually made of wood, dirt or weak concrete, which are not resistant to the earthquake.

Much harm also comes from landslides caused by earthquakes that can smooth houses in mountain villages and block rivers that causes floods.