‘We have nothing’ say survivors of deadly earthquake now facing disease outbreak
- There is a desperate need for clean water – cholera outbreaks in the aftermath are of particular and serious concern
- At least 1,000 people were killed, 2,000 injured and 10,000 homes destroyed in the devastating earthquake
Thousands affected by a deadly earthquake in eastern Afghanistan are in need of clean water and food and are at risk of disease, an Afghan health ministry official said on Sunday, days after a UN agency warned of a cholera outbreak in the region.
At least 1,000 people were killed, 2,000 injured and 10,000 homes destroyed in Wednesday’s earthquake, after which the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) warned that cholera outbreaks in the aftermath are of particular and serious concern.
“The people are extremely needy for food and clean water,” Afghanistan’s health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman told Reuters, adding officials had managed medicines for now but handling those who had lost their homes would be a challenge.
“We ask the international community, humanitarian organisations to help us for food and medicine, the survivor might catch diseases because they do not have proper houses and shelters for living,” he said.
The disaster is a major test for Afghanistan’s hardline Taliban rulers, who have been shunned by many foreign governments due to concerns about human rights since they seized control of the country last year.