Jalalabad, Sep 3: The United Nations has warned of an exponential rise in casualties from a major earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, with the Taliban claiming that the death toll reached 1,400 on Tuesday.
The powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck several provinces, causing extensive damage and flattening villages.
The rough terrain is hampering rescue and relief efforts, forcing Taliban authorities to air-drop dozens of commandos to evacuate the injured from places where helicopters cannot land.
Aid agency Save the Children reported that one of its teams walked for over 12 miles to reach villages cut off by rock falls, carrying medical equipment on their backs with the help of community members.
The third major earthquake since the Taliban seized power in 2021, this is the latest crisis to beset Afghanistan, which is reeling from deep cuts to aid funding, a weak economy, and millions of people forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan.
The casualty rate is expected to be rather exponential, as the walls of wooden and mud homes collapse, causing injury or death.
The UN has dispatched at least 25 assessment teams to the region, deploying essential items such as blankets and solar lamps to areas that can be reached.
Humanitarian experts say that immediate priorities include emergency shelter, critical medical supplies, drinking water, and emergency food aid.
The UK has pledged 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) to be split between humanitarian agencies rather than going to the Taliban government, which it does not recognize.
The European Union is sending 130 tons of emergency supplies and providing 1 million euros ($1.16 million).
Other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, India, and China, have pledged disaster relief support.
Earthquake victims are bearing the brunt of opposition to the Taliban government, especially their restrictive policies on Afghan girls and women, including a ban on them working for NGOs.
Donor countries had already scaled back their funding, and the US gutted aid to Afghanistan earlier this year due to concerns that money was going to the Taliban administration.
More than 420 health facilities had closed or were suspended due to the “massive reduction” in funding, with 80 of them in the eastern region, the heart of Sunday’s quake. (AP)
