UN: Death toll reaches 26 in Afghan quake

KABUL, Afghanistan – The United Nations on Tuesday raised the death toll from twin earthquakes in western Afghanistan the day before to 26, saying three villages of around 800 houses were flattened.

At least four people were injured and the dead included women and children, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Villagers in the area were still searching on Tuesday for their family members and removing items stuck under the mud.

According to the U.N. statement, hundreds of mud-brick houses that were destroyed were already vulnerable due to heavy rains. Many survivors spent the night sheltering at their relatives’ houses while others stayed among the ruins of their homes.

The U.S. Geological Survey on Monday registered a magnitude 5.3 quake at 2 p.m. and a second, magnitude 4.9 at 4 p.m. local time. They struck 25 miles east and 31 miles southeast of Qala-e-naw, the provincial capital in Badghis. The province lies along the border with Turkmenistan and is one of Afghanistan’s most underdeveloped and impoverished regions.

The quakes were felt across the western provinces of Badghis, Ghor, and Herat, the U.N. statement said.

“People whose homes have been damaged or destroyed are being hosted by their relatives and other members of their communities,” the U.N. said. “Preliminary reports indicate that food, shelter, and non-food items, and heating materials are most urgently needed.”

The Taliban called on international aid organizations to provide help.

The Taliban put the death toll at 22.