New Delhi: At least 26 people have been reported dead after an earthquake jolted western Afghanistan on Monday. The victims were killed after the ceiling of their homes collapsed in Qadis district of the western province of Badghis, quoted AFP as a spokesperson for the province Baz Mohammas Sarway said.
As per the US Geological Survey, the earthquake was shallow with a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale.
"Five women and four children are among the 26 people killed in the earthquake," said Sarwary and added that four more people were injured.
He further said that residents of another district, Muqr in the province were also inflicted with damages from the earthquake but details including that of casualties were still not available.
The report stated that Qadis was one of the area that remains worst affected due to a devastating drought and received an insignificant benefit from the international aids that it has been receiving in the past 20 years.
“Afghanistan is already in the grip of a humanitarian disaster, worsened by the Taliban takeover of the country in August when Western countries froze international aid and access to assets held abroad,” the report mentioned.
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Afghanistan is an earthquake-prone country. Areas especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates are highly vulnerable to quakes.
Earthquakes can cause significant damage to poorly built homes and buildings in impoverished Afghanistan.
In 2015, a powerful earthquake of 7.5 magnitude on the Richter scale had left nearly 280 people dead with its epicenter in the mountain range which ripped across South Asia and caused widespread deaths in Pakistan.
The mighty quake had killed 12 young Afghan girls in a stampede as they were trying to escape the shaking school building.