The epicentre of Afghanistan's latest earthquakes that killed more than 1,000 people has become a 'tent city,' World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Another strong earthquake struck western Afghanistan on Sunday morning, in the same area where a series of powerful tremors last weekend left some 2,400 people dead, according to the latest figures by the Taliban-run government. However, the UN estimates some 1,384 people died. 'Families are sleeping in open spaces in parks in small tents as they are afraid to be inside because of aftershocks and more earthquakes,' Ghebreyesus posted on Monday on X. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly 20,000 people are directly affected. More than 3,000 homes were partially or destroyed and 20 villages were completely flattened. More than 90% of those killed in the devastating earthquakes are women and children, according to the UN. The biggest problem is the lack of tents so that people stay warm during cold nights, Asif Rahmani, a doctor and resident of Herat told dpa. Children, women, and elderly people have fallen ill, he added. 'Many people have taken shelter outside their houses, in open spaces, in parks and recreational areas, in different places due to the fear of their houses collapsing,' another local resident said. 'They spend the nights outside despite the storms and rains.' On October 7, a series of quakes with magnitudes of between 4.6 and 6.3 rocked Afghanistan's western province of Herat at a depth of around 10 kilometres.

Source: Ghana News Agency