Thousands desperate for food, medicine and shelter after 1,000 killed

KABUL, Afghanistan — On Wednesday, one of the worst earthquakes to hit Afghanistan in recent memory claimed the lives of four members of Dadmir Khan’s family: his three children, his son, and his mother.

Now that there is a shortage of medication for wounded people, she is concerned about which members of her family may not make it through the aftermath of the earthquake.

Khan, who is 45 years old, described the sensation to NBC News as “like there was a massive explosion.”

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.9 and occurred in the remote and hilly region of Paktika, which is close to the border with Pakistan. The farmer said that he had been pushed to the ground many times by the earthquake.

He added that his seven-year-old son Nabiullah, his four-year-old daughter Lila, his three-year-old daughter Amine, and his two-year-old daughter Nazia, as well as Nazia’s mother, Guljama, who was 65, had been slain.

Other members of his family were receiving treatment at the hospital, but “they are not in good health since there are not enough drugs at the institution,” he added. He was referring to the lack of availability of certain medications.

“We are looking at the possibility of moving them to a different site,” he said.

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On Wednesday, an earthquake struck the Gayan area of Paktika province in Afghanistan, inflicting injuries on a little kid who was later taken to a hospital in Sharan city for treatment. Ahmad Sahel Arman Agence France-Presse – Getty Images

officials of the Taliban, the dominant group in Afghanistan He said that the earthquake caused at least 1,000 deaths and 1,500 injuries, and that the epicentre of the tremor was in the province of Paktika. However, he cautioned that the death toll might possibly grow further.

Residents in communities tucked away in the rocky hillsides were seen on video searching through the wreckage of their destroyed homes out of the worry that many of their neighbours were still buried under the debris of their homes.

According to Zarinullah Shah, a significant portion of the people who live in the Barmal region of the Paktika province have suffered the loss of family members.

“In our region, the majority of the dwellings were constructed with mud,” said Shah, who is 47 years old. He went on to say that the majority of the structures in the area where he resided had been damaged or destroyed, and that around 300 people had been displaced as a result.

Because of this, he said that they had no option but to spend the night outside in the fresh air.

He stated that thousands of people were in desperate need of tents, blankets, food, and medicine, and he went on to say that “the Afghan government was trying to help injured people, but they don’t have enough resources, particularly helicopters and doctors, to meet the needs of those who were affected.”

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In the Gayan area of the Paktika province in Afghanistan, a wounded man is being placed onto a vehicle. Images courtesy of Bakhtar News Agency, AFP, and Getty Images

“The situation is very bad,” said Dr. Mohammad Anwar Haneef, senior programme coordinator for Care International in Afghanistan. Care International is one of the few international aid organisations that has remained in the country since the Taliban took power in August, when the United States and its NATO allies were preparing to withdraw. “The situation is very bad,” said Dr. Mohammad Anwar Haneef. “The situation is very bad.”

Haneef, who was coordinating relief operations from Kabul, the nation’s capital, adding that it was difficult for ambulances to get the affected districts.

Rarely seen in public, the reclusive supreme leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, issued a statement in which he urged “the international community and all humanitarian organisations to help the Afghan people affected by this great tragedy and spare no effort to help those affected.” This was an unusual move for Akhundzada, who rarely appears in public.

In a statement that was sent by a Taliban spokesperson, he was quoted as saying, “We beseech God to preserve our impoverished people from trial and damage.”

However, the answer is likely to be complicated as a result of the fact that many governments are hesitant to deal directly with the militant group because it has issued a series of repressive edicts restricting the rights of women and girls as well as the press. They do this in remembrance of the time when he was in power before the United States invaded the country in response to the 9/11 attacks.

The reluctance of the international community to provide help and equipment in times of emergency, which is generally provided after natural catastrophes of this kind, might cause a delay in the delivery of such aid and equipment.

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In the Spera region of the Khost province in Afghanistan, a local villager rests next to his destroyed home. access point

The earthquake also occurred at a time when Afghanistan was already in the midst of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. As a result of the termination of foreign assistance to the Taliban, millions of people in Afghanistan are now experiencing heightened levels of famine and poverty.

Haneef said that there is an unemployment rate among the people. As a result of their lack of revenue, the private sector is not doing very well.

He went on to say that it was difficult to go outside the nation in order to get medical supplies, and that the fact that the country “suffered from low incomes on the one hand and high expenditures on the other” made this difficulty even more difficult to deal with.

He said that his country need “a short-term strategy to supply food, housing, medication, and medical care” as a result of the widespread destruction that had occurred throughout the nation.

He continued by saying that “unfortunately, this will have long-term effects for individuals.”

Mushtaq Yusufzai reported from Peshawar, Pakistan, while Ahmed Mengli reported from Kabul, Afghanistan.

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