Hundreds killed in 6.0 magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan: Death toll expected to rise | DW News

Key Concepts:

• Earthquake in Afghanistan (Jalalabad region)
• Casualties (deaths and injuries)
• Remote villages and accessibility challenges
• Humanitarian assistance and response
• Taliban government's preparedness and capacity
• Forced returns from Pakistan impacting affected areas
• International isolation and budget cuts affecting aid
• Urgent needs: medical evacuation, rubble clearance, healthcare, shelter, food

Earthquake Details and Impact:

• A magnitude 6 earthquake struck the mountainous region near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
• Over 600 people have been killed, and 1,500 reported injured.
• The northeastern provinces, where tectonic plates meet, are susceptible to seismic activity.
• The most impacted areas are Kunar and Nankahar provinces.
• Many remote villages are still inaccessible.
• The death toll is expected to rise as families remain under rubble.

Challenges to Access and Assistance:

• Roads are difficult to access, hindering assistance efforts. Authorities are trying to clear the roads.
• Assistance is impacted as roads need to be cleared.

Taliban Government's Response and Capacity:

• There have been some deployments, road clearances, and evacuations.
• A lot of assistance is needed.
• Humanitarian organizations are conducting assessments and providing immediate response.

Impact of Forced Returns from Pakistan:

• Kunar and Nankahar are high return areas for those forcibly returned from Pakistan.
• Returnees were trying to rebuild their lives and are now impacted by the earthquake.

Humanitarian Needs and International Aid:

• Urgent needs include medical evacuation, rubble clearance, emergency healthcare, shelter, and food.
• Afghanistan has been isolated internationally since the Taliban takeover.
• Humanitarian organizations provide assistance to the most impacted areas and families.
• Budget cuts, especially US budget cuts and overall funding reduction, have weakened the capacity to respond.
• The UN and other organizations are deployed to respond, but more is urgently needed.

Notable Quotes:

• Da Al Sharif (Danish Refugee Council): "At the moment the information are still incoming. It's still early days so it's hard to um yet know the the impact of these earthquakes."
• Da Al Sharif (Danish Refugee Council): "We expect the number to increase as many families remain to be under rubbles."
• Da Al Sharif (Danish Refugee Council): "The assistant that is required at the moment is certainly medical evacuation. It's clearance of of uh the rebels, emergency health care assistance, shelter, food, everything is needed at the moment."
• Da Al Sharif (Danish Refugee Council): "The capacity to respond um is uh has been weakened uh since the beginning of this year. Um we are deployed along with other organizations and the UN um organization to respond but certainly more is needed um urgently at the moment."

Conclusion:

The earthquake in Afghanistan has caused significant devastation, with a high number of casualties and widespread damage, particularly in remote areas. The response is hampered by accessibility issues and limited resources due to international isolation and budget cuts. Urgent humanitarian assistance is needed, including medical evacuation, rubble clearance, healthcare, shelter, and food. The situation is further complicated by the presence of forced returnees from Pakistan, who were already in a vulnerable position.