New York [US], September 2: After a magnitude six earthquake struck remote areas of eastern Afghanistan overnight reportedly killing at least 800 people and wiping out villages, UN chief Antonio Guterres on Monday pledged to "spare no effort" in helping those affected.
"I stand in full solidarity with the people of Afghanistan after the devastating earthquake that hit the country earlier today," the Secretary-General said in an online message. "I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured. The UN team in Afghanistan is mobilised and will spare no effort to assist those in need in the affected areas."
On the ground, several UN agencies reported devastation across four eastern provinces of Afghanistan including Nangarhar and Kunar, where staff and humanitarian partners are already supporting relief efforts.
Hundreds of houses are believed to have collapsed in remote hillside communities, where many likely crumbled on top of others located on terraces further downhill.
When an earthquake of this magnitude happens, the homes basically tumble on top of each other," Salam Al-Jabani from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) told UN News. "And because it was so late at night, families were at home sleeping and that's why we see such big losses."
The UN Humanitarian Air Service has scheduled additional flights connecting Kabul and Jalalabad for personnel and cargo to scale up the response.
"As reports of deaths and injuries from the earthquake in eastern region of Afghanistan continue to emerge, WHO Afghanistan teams are on the ground in hospitals and health facilities, supporting the treatment of the wounded and assessing urgent health needs," the UN health agency said.
"We are actively delivering essential medicines and supplies and deploying health teams to affected areas to help save lives," WHO added.
Also on the ground to provide assistance, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, noted that up more than 2,000 people have been likely injured in the province of Kunar alone. It is feared that the trading city of Jalalabad may have suffered a "very high death toll", said UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch.
Baloch insisted that the scale of this disaster "far exceeds the current capacity of local authorities and communities.We are appealing to the donor community globally to support urgently required relief efforts. Afghans need our support and assistance now, before it's too late for many others."
Aid teams will have to overcome challenging terrain to help some of the most remote communities who can only be reached on foot, UN aid coordination office (OCHA) noted.
But a number of isolated communities can only be reached by foot with travel time currently up to three hours from the point of obstruction, OCHA said, highlighting those in Dewagal Valley in Chawkay district and Mazar Valley in Nurgal district, Kunar province.
Source: Emirates News Agency