Afghans flee as another quake rattles Herat
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed two people in western Afghanistan on Sunday, with damaged prisons evacuated and residents fleeing a region where tremors have claimed at least 1,000 lives this past week. Since October 7, a series of potent quakes have jolted Herat province, levelling whole villages, burying families and leaving thousands homeless as winter approaches. In rural Injil district, near the epicentre of Sunday's quake, 64-year-old Rustam narrowly escaped when tremors destroyed the remnants of his home and buried belongings he was trying to salvage at around 8am local time. "We heard a very terrible and scary sound," he said. "When we entered the house, like the power of God, it sounded like a bomb blast, and collapsed." His neighbour in Ghar Mushak village, 57-year-old Khudadad, also said a home he had hoped to repair was reduced to rubble. "We people are hopeless," he said. "We have nowhere to stay, it's like we are in a ruined desert." Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said two new fatalities and 154 injuries were registered at Herat Regional Hospital, where patients were being ferried on stretchers and treated outside under gazebos. "The situation is very critical," MSF's Afghanistan Programme Head Yahya Kalilah told AFP. "In terms of psychology, people are panicked and traumatised." "People are not feeling safe. I will assure you 100 percent, no one will sleep in their house." The latest quake's epicentre was 33 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital Herat city and was followed by aftershocks of magnitudes 5.4, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4, the US Geological Survey said. Officials said more than 528 prisoners had been released from Herat province and neighbouring Badghis province because jails "were in danger of collapsing" from quake damage. Those freed included inmates who had served large portions of their sentences and showed signs of reform, according to the Prisons Administration Authority. Many Herat city residents have fled due to the threat of aftershocks. (AFP)