Rescuers in ‘race against time’ to reach Afghan quake survivors as death toll passes 1,400

JALALABAD Afghanistan AP The death toll from a major earthquake in eastern Afghanistan passed on Tuesday with more than people injured Zabihullah Mujahid a Taliban executive spokesman mentioned on social platform X Rescuers are scrambling in a race against time to reach the mountainous and remote area devastated by Sunday s powerful magnitude earthquake a U N official noted warning of an exponential rise in the number of casualties The quake struck in several provinces causing extensive damage It flattened villages and trapped people under the rubble of homes that were constructed mostly of mud bricks and wood and were unable to withstand the shock Rough terrain is hampering rescue and relief efforts forcing Taliban personnel to send in dozens of commandos to evacuate the injured from places inaccessible by helicopter and other conveyance The casualty figures provided by the spokesman Mujahid were just for Kunar province We cannot afford to forget the people of Afghanistan who are facing multiple crises multiple shocks and the resilience of the communities has been saturated Indrika Ratwatte the U N s resident coordinator for Afghanistan explained a media briefing on Tuesday He urged the international society to step forward These are life and death decisions while we race against time to reach people It is the third major earthquake since the Taliban seized power in and the latest predicament to beset Afghanistan which is reeling from deep cuts to aid funding a weak economic activity and millions of people forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan Ratwatte explained that when the walls of wooden and mud homes collapse the roof falls on to the occupants causing injury or death While the area was low-density the earthquake struck when everybody was asleep If you were to model it based on what has happened before clearly there s no question that the casualty rate is going to be rather exponential he explained The Taliban authorities which is only recognized by Russia has appealed for assistance from foreign governments and the humanitarian sector However help for Afghanistan is in short supply due to competing global crises and reduced aid budgets in donor countries There is also opposition toward the Taliban cabinet s restrictive policies on Afghan girls and women including a ban on them working for nongovernmental organizations Earlier this year the U S gutted aid money to Afghanistan partly due to concerns that money was going to the Taliban ruling body Kate Carey who is the deputy head of the U N Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan mentioned more than fitness facilities had closed or were suspended due to the massive reduction in funding with of them in the eastern region the heart of Sunday s quake The consequence is that the remaining facilities are overwhelmed have insufficient supplies and personnel and are not as close to the affected populations as the more local facilities at a time when providing emergency trauma care is needed in the first to hours of the earthquake response stated Carey