Afghanistan supplied commandos on Wednesday to rescue survivors from the rubble of homes. In mountainous eastern provinces hit by earthquakes that have killed 1,400 people. And it stepped up efforts to supply food, housing, and medical supplies this week.
The first magnitude 6 earthquake, one of the strongest to strike Afghanistan in recent memory. It struck the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar at around midnight on Sunday, with a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). There was a great deal of destruction and damage from the earthquake. A second earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck Tuesday, sending rocks tumbling down slopes, cutting off roads to settlements in far-flung regions, creating panic, and interfering with rescue operations.
According to Ehsanullah Ehsan, the chief of disaster management in Kunar, that they have airdropped dozens of commando forces. At locations where helicopters are unable to land in order to assist in transporting the injured to safer ground. “Service and relief committees are organizing supplies and emergency aid in a camp that has been established,” he explained. Additionally, he said, two facilities were responsible for the recovery of the survivors. The transportation of the injured, and the burial of the deceased.
Rescuers had previously used helicopters to transport the injured to hospitals. While battling severe weather and rugged terrain to get to areas along the Pakistani border where the earthquakes had destroyed mudbrick houses.
