Earthquake in Afghanistan Claims 1,000 Lives
The death toll from a massive earthquake in Afghanistan has risen to one thousand, with over five hundred injured: The earthquake’s epicentre was 46 kilometres (27 miles) from the city of Khost, near the Pakistani border. Wednesday morning’s quake was 5.9, downgraded from the earlier estimate of 6.1. Residents in the isolated region near the Pakistani border dug with their bare hands in search of dead or living victims. At least 2,000 houses were destroyed in an area where, on average, seven or eight people reside in each home.
There were no initial reports of damage or injuries from neighboring Pakistan and Iran. At least 80 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured after a severe earthquake slammed the country’s north-eastern region of Badakhshan on Saturday.
