Tragedy struck western Afghanistan on Saturday as a series of earthquakes rattled the region, resulting in at least 15 fatalities and nearly 40 individuals injured, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The two earthquakes were recorded as 6.3 magnitude by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the AP reported. Subsequent tremors followed, with their epicenter located approximately 24.8 miles northwest of the city of Herat. The USGS recorded an aftershock with a 5.5 magnitude. A total of seven earthquakes were recorded in the region, with at least five earthquakes hitting the city at noon, the USGS reported.
The casualties were primarily concentrated in four villages of Zenda Jan district of Herat province, the AP reported.
WATCH: Footage of massive earthquake in Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/AOiOFU5Afq
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“All people are out of their homes,” Herat city resident Abdul Shakor Samadi said in a statement, per the AP. “Houses, offices and shops are all empty and there are fears of more earthquakes. My family and I were inside our home, I felt the quake.” His family reportedly began shouting and ran outside, afraid to return indoors, the outlet continued. (RELATED: Evidence Of Massive Earthquake In US 1,100 Years Ago Suggests It Could Happen Again)
“We were in our offices and suddenly the building started shaking,” 45-year-old Herat resident Bashir Ahmad told Agence-France Presse (AFP), per France24. “Wall plasters started to fall down and the walls got cracks, some walls and parts of the building collapsed.”
“These are the numbers that have been brought to the central hospital so far, but this is not the final figure,” public health director of Herat province, Mohammad Taleb Shahid, said in a statement to AFP. “We have information that people are buried under rubble.”