Earthquake death toll in Afghanistan tops 84

A day after a powerful earthquake in Afghanistan, at least 84 people died and nearly 500 others were injured in northern parts of the country, according to The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA).

(ANDMA) says that the magnitude-7.5 quake, which was centered deep beneath the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan’s sparsely populated Badakhshan province that borders Pakistan, Tajikistan and China damages more than 3900 homes in 12 provinces of the country.

Earthquakes at this depth typically cause less damage on the surface than shallower quakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Our initial assessment shows that immediate need is not for food, but for tents, blankets and warm clothes because the weather is getting cold,” Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, said in a video message.

The death toll is expected to rise as search teams reach remote areas that were cut off by the 7.5-magnitude quake, which triggered landslides and stampedes as it toppled buildings and severed communication lines.

The prolonged tremors were some of the worst the region has experienced in recent years and were felt hundreds of miles from the epicentre in Jurm, north-east Afghanistan.

Badakhshan local officials have called for the earlier aid agencies to send help.

According to statistics, from 1970 to 2012 thousands of Afghan people died in earthquakes.