KABUL, Afghanistan — E no good as desperate Afghans dey claw through rubble for night wey strong earthquake smash their area, killing around 800 people and injuring more than 2,500, according to di Taliban government. Di quake, wey get 6.0 magnitude, hit towns for Kunar province, close to Jalalabad for Sunday night, and wahala come follow.
Di earthquake happen at 11:47 p.m. night time, center don dey 27 kilometers (17 miles) east-northeast of Jalalabad, as per di U.S. Geological Survey. Di quake no deep — just 8 kilometers (5 miles) — but e don leave many towns in mess (na wetin we dey call ‘shallow but destructive’).
We don see footage wey show rescuers wey dey carry injured people on stretchers as dem dey rush dem into helicopters. People dey dig through di rubble with their own hands — no time to waste, my people! Di Taliban government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirm say di death toll don rise to at least 800 and injury dey over 2,500. Most casualties come from Kunar area.
This quake no be ordinary wahala, na real disaster! Buildings wey no strong enough don collapse, and locals dey cry for help. One resident from Nurgal district talk say nearly every corner don scatter. ‘Children dey under di rubble. Di old people dey under di rubble. Young people dey under di rubble,’ him lament. ‘We need help here!’ as if dem no dey feel anything for di whole village.
Di communication don come weak too, with blocked roads wey dey make it hard for aid workers to reach di survivors. Some villages dey so remote, dem dey waka for four to five hours just to reach di people wey wan help. Di helicopters dey busy dey carry di injured go hospital, while di survival stories don dey shake everywhere.
One survivor, Sadiqullah — no be singer oh! — wey dey live for Maza Dara say him wake up during di quake and see homes dey collapse. Di guy talk say, ‘It be like one serious storm dey come.’ E even manage rescue three of him pikin before di whole thing fall on top him. ‘I dey half-buried, couldn’t escape.’ Now he dey tell us say him wife and two sons don die. Sad story, no be small.
Rescue operations don start, with medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar, and di capital, Kabul, don show face for di area. Sharafat Zaman, one health ministry spokesperson, talk say many areas never report casualty figures. And Mujahid don confirm say, ‘Helicopters don reach some areas, but road travel no easy.’ So more wahala dey come as we still dey wait for dem to carry di dead bodies.
UN big man, Filippo Grandi, don talk say di earthquake don add more wahala to di humanitarian challenges for Afghanistan, begging international donors to open dem pockets for relief work. Na wa, wetin dem dey face dis year wey dey extra wahala for dem like hell.
Last October, di quake wey shake Afghanistan don kill over 4,000 people and nobody forget wetin happen then. People dey fear say dis latest earthquake go bring even more humanitarian needs wey don already dey high. Dis one na wetin International Rescue Committee dey talk.
Everybody dey wait for help as di roads don scatter, cutting off many communities. Di casualty figure don dey enter 2,000 within di first 12 hours. Sherine Ibrahim, di country director for di aid agency, talk say, ‘Although we don try act fast, di humanitarian response fit no dey enough.’ E no good, my people.
Even Pakistan don feel di quake as di tremors waka reach dem. Maybe na di reason why di Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, don quickly show support. ‘Our hearts dey go with di victims and dia families,’ him talk for social media. But make we no forget say di challenges wey Afghans dey face don dey pile up since last year, especially as dem dey push dem citizens away from dia borders.
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