KABUL: The Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan said it will rebuild 2,200 houses which were fully or partially damaged in the devastating June 22 earthquake which affected the provinces of Paktika and Khost.
The UN Refugee Agency is supporting the move, according to a statement made by Mawlawi Sharafudin Muslim, deputy minister of state for disaster management and humanitarian affairs, as per reports citing Xinhua.
At least 1,163 people were killed and more than 6,000 others were injured in the 6.2 magnitude earthquake, which was the deadliest to hit Afghanistan since 1998. Over 500 kilometres away, at least 119 million people, including those in Pakistan, sections of India, and Iran, felt the powerful earthquake.
The most severely hit districts in Paktika were Gayan and Barmal, where at least 238 and 500 deaths, respectively, occurred. 70% of the homes in the Gayan district were completely destroyed.
Five people were killed in Gayan three days later by an aftershock measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale.
In the early hours of 22 June, it was reported that the 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck in rural area that is difficult to access. Aid workers continue to help the victims, but their endeavors are hampered by the mountainous terrain and heavy rains that are common during this time of year. The survivors of Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake in over 20 years continue to wait in their devastated villages, without shelter, food, or water, for emergency aid to reach them, with heavy rains making the situation even worse.
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