At least 26 people were reported dead after an earthquake of magnitude 5.3 hit western Afghanistan on Monday, 17 January.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the magnitude 5.3 quake at 2 pm (local time), and then a second one of magnitude 4.9 at 4 pm. They struck 41 km (25 miles) east and 50 km (31 miles) southeast of the provincial capital, Qala-e-Naw.
“Five women and four children are among the 26 people killed in the earthquake,” said Spokesman Badghis Baz Mohammad Sarwary, adding that four more were injured.
He also said that the victims had died when roofs of their houses collapsed in Qadis district.
Mullah Janan Saeqe, head of the Emergency Operations Centre of the Ministry of State for Emergency Affairs, confirmed the death toll and said more than 700 houses had been damaged.
The quake also inflicted damage on the residents of Muqr district in the province but details including of casualties were still unavailable, he said. Afghanistan is already in the grip of a humanitarian disaster.
