Gofrixty [03 September 2025] –Rescuers raced to isolated areas of western Afghanistan after a strong earthquake left more than 1,400 people dead and several thousand wounded. The 6.3-magnitude quake hit near Herat province, reducing entire villages to rubble in a matter of minutes.
Survivors clawed through piles of rubble with their hands while rescue teams cleared debris and extracted and carried out victims. Families spent the night in the open, with aftershocks rattling buildings already damaged and at risk of collapse.
Local officials said the quake had flattened hundreds of mud-brick homes and buried families within. Women and children were among the dead, according to aid workers. In Herat, hospitals overflowed and doctors treated patients in the open, under tents.
The Afghan Red Crescent Society, for example, distributed food, blankets and emergency tents, while international bodies dispatched medical supplies and rescue teams. But it turned out that blocked roads, and crippled infrastructure were impeding relief efforts. Rescuers said they were unable to access many of the remote villages easily.
