The WFP highlights that the earthquake “will add to already massive humanitarian needs” in Afghanistan
June 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The authorities of the Afghan province of Paktika, the most affected by the earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the open Richter scale registered on Tuesday, have sent a “desperate” request for help to deal with the consequences of the earthquake, which has left more than a thousand dead and 1,500 wounded in the country.
The director of the provincial health service, Hekmatulá Esmat, has stressed that so far only aid delivered by the authorities established by the Taliban has arrived and has added that food, drinking water and shelter are urgently needed, according to the television network. Afghan Ariana.
Thus, he stressed that at least 3,000 families “urgently” need humanitarian aid, after the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Hebatullah Ahundzada, made an appeal on Wednesday to the international community to help the authorities to attend to the victims. .
In this sense, the spokesman for the Taliban and Minister of Information and Culture of Afghanistan, Zabihulá Muyahid, has pointed out through his official account on the social network Twitter that there are “massive” efforts to deliver aid in the affected areas in the Paktika and Khost provinces.
Muyahid has also revealed that a Qatari plane with aid arrived in Kabul on Wednesday night, while two others have arrived from Iran and four trucks have crossed the border from Pakistan “to help the victims of the earthquake”, without giving further details. about loads.
For its part, the World Food Program (WFP) has announced the deployment of food and logistics equipment to support the affected communities, with the aim of providing emergency food to 3,000 families, according to a statement published by the agency.
“The Afghan people are facing an unprecedented crisis after decades of conflict, severe drought and economic crisis. The earthquake will only add to the already massive humanitarian needs they are experiencing daily, including nearly 19 million people facing a hungry and they need help,” said WFP’s deputy director for Afghanistan, Gordon Craig.
“Our teams have mobilized quickly and will continue to provide support to help affected families get through this latest tragedy,” he said. The agency has highlighted that the districts of Giyan and Barmal, in Paktika, and Spera, in Jost, are the most affected, with the destruction of 70 percent of the houses in Barmal.
Along these lines, the Afghanistan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), have mobilized urgent aid. The head of the IFRC delegation in Afghanistan, Necephor Mghendi, has also confirmed the deployment of “volunteers” for “immediate response and assessment”.
“Ambulances and trucks with relief goods have been dispatched to the affected areas. In addition to ARCS assessment teams, other movement partners are on their way to the affected areas. We are very concerned for our staff and their families as It is likely that some have been affected,” he explained.
The earthquake had its epicenter about 44 kilometers from the city of Jost, while its epicenter has been at a depth of about 51 kilometers, later revised to about ten kilometers, according to data published on its website by the United States Geological Survey. States (USGS).
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