Afghan earthquake survivors face winter cold after deadly quakes

Survivors of a almighty earthquake that demolished homes successful Afghanistan are present struggling to find structure arsenic they contend with dense rainfall and the looming wintertime cold.

Their concerns are shared by those who survived an adjacent much devastating earthquake 2 months earlier.

The latest magnitude 6.3 tremor struck the bluish provinces of Samangan and Balkh, sidesplitting astatine slightest 27 people, according to Taliban authorities.

In Samangan’s Khulm district, wherever the earthquake was centred, a nonmigratory named Gulabuddin is grieving for his daughter-in-law, who could not flight the household location successful time. Gulabuddin himself sustained a caput wounded from falling debris.

“We mislaid each of our belongings,” helium told the AFP quality agency. “Winter is coming. We person children aged 4 and five. Where tin we go? For 2 nights now, we person been staying with relatives.”

Rain has transformed ungraded paths into muddy pools astir collapsed walls and fallen roofs. Similar demolition was disposable successful eastbound Afghanistan pursuing a shallow magnitude 6.0 earthquake successful precocious August that killed much than 2,200 radical – the deadliest successful Afghanistan’s caller history.

In Kunar province’s mountainous colony of Mazar Dara, Bazarga Safay witnessed children being swept distant during that earlier quake. Two months later, she fears acold upwind volition termination more.

Safay, a 50-year-old husbandman who mislaid 2 relatives successful the erstwhile earthquake, present shares a structure with 15 people, including 12 children. “We were fixed a tent, but it’s not suitable for winter,” she explained.

Most villagers slumber outdoors successful gardens oregon connected terraces, acrophobic to enactment successful damaged houses arsenic aftershocks continue. They look impending temperatures arsenic debased arsenic -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) without capable wintertime covering oregon blankets.

“The earthquake happened successful summer, and the organisations provided assistance based connected the needs astatine the time,” explained Najibullah Hanafi, a Taliban accusation authoritative successful Kunar. “Now that wintertime is coming, they request apparel and things that tin assistance them past the cold.”

Despite these challenging conditions, planetary assistance organisations pass their assistance volition beryllium constricted arsenic large donors, led by the United States government, person withdrawn funding.

Camps person been established astatine the basal of Mazar Dara mountain, yet the International Organization for Migration reports that 77 percent of survivors mean to stay successful spot done wintertime – either due to the fact that they cannot spend to relocate oregon person obscurity other to go.

For many, rebuilding stronger homes is the lone option, adjacent if it means abandoning accepted chromatic construction. Taliban authorities assertion to beryllium gathering dozens of caller houses successful Mazar Dara, though journalists observed lone 1 bulldozer clearing debris.

“We request to rebuild the close way, with factual and bricks,” said husbandman Sayid Wali Safay, 27.

Resident Awal Jan added: “We privation to rebuild our location successful the aforesaid place, but not successful the aforesaid way. If we don’t privation our location to illness again, lone factual volition work.”