Largely overlooked in the other news from the area, understandably, are the devastating earthquakes near Herat in Afghanistan. Very tragic. Another strong earthquake shook western Afghanistan on Wednesday morning after an earlier one killed more than 2,000 people and flattened whole villages in Herat province in what was one of the most destructive quakes in the country’s recent history. The magnitude 6.3 earthquake on Wednesday was about 17 miles outside of Herat, the provincial capital, and 6 miles deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It triggered a landslide that blocked the main Herat-Torghondi highway, Information Ministry spokesperson Abdul Wahid Rayan said. Janan Sayiq, a spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban government’s national disaster authority, said Wednesday’s earthquake killed at least one person and injured around 120 others. The aid group Doctors Without Borders said Herat Regional Hospital received 117 who were injured in Wednesday’s temblor. The group, also known by its French acronym MSF, said it sent additional medical supplies to the hospital and was setting up four more medical tents at the facility. 6.3 earthquake shakes Afghanistan where earlier quake killed over 2,000 - Tampa Bay Times
