On Wednesday, Egypt expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to Afghanistan and to the families of the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck the states of Paktika and Khost, which resulted in the death and injury of hundreds.
In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt also expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the victims. It wished a speedy recovery for all the injured and confirmed its solidarity with Afghanistan in this painful affliction.
Taliban sources reported a strong earthquake in Afghanistan has killed at least 920 people and injured hundreds more. In the eastern Paktika province, where rescuers are rushing to treat the injured, pictures reveal landslides and destroyed mud-built dwellings.
Helicopters have been using distant places to transport patients to hospitals. Numerous homes have been damaged, according to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, and the death toll is certain to climb.
At least 920 people had died, and an another 600 had been injured, according to his deputy minister for disaster management Sharafuddin Muslim.
Many people were at home, sound asleep in their beds, when the earthquake occurred approximately 44km (27 miles) from the south-eastern city of Khost at around 01:30 local time (21:00 Tuesday GMT).
In Afghanistan, where there are many rural areas with weak or poorly constructed housing, earthquakes can cause major damage.
Officials from the Taliban urged assistance organisations to hasten their arrival in the nation's eastern impacted regions.
Despite efforts by relief organisations to strengthen some buildings over the years, the impoverished nation has struggled to develop its defences against earthquakes and other natural disasters due to decades of conflict.
Even before the Taliban took control of the country, Afghanistan's emergency services were understaffed and underequipped to handle natural disasters.
According to a local doctor, the majority of the casualties up to this point have been in Paktika's Gayan and Barmal districts. A complete village in Gayan was reportedly destroyed, according to the local media outlet Etilaat-e Roz.
Over 500 kilometres of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India experienced tremors. Witnesses claimed to have felt the earthquake in Islamabad, Pakistan, as well as Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
According to BBC, the earthquake in Pakistan did not immediately result in any fatalities and only little damage.
Due to its location in a tectonically active area and its proximity to a variety of fault lines, including the Chaman fault, the Hari Rud fault, the Central Badakhshan fault, and the Darvaz fault, Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes.
Seismologists estimate that the earthquake had a depth of about 51 kilometres and had a magnitude of 6.1.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 7,000 people have perished in earthquakes in the nation over the past ten years. Earthquakes cause 560 fatalities annually on average.
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