UN says more than 11,000 affected by earthquakes in Afghanistan

GENEVA - More than 11,000 people have been affected by a series of earthquakes in Afghanistan's Herat province on Saturday morning, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reported dpa news agency.

Every home in at least 11 villages in Afghanistan had been destroyed in the earthquakes, the UN aid group said on Sunday evening.

The agency said just over 1,000 were killed, although Afghan authorities have put the death toll at more than 2,500, according to local Afghan media.

"The number of casualties and affected households affected is expected to rise as remote areas are reached and assessments are completed," the OCHA said.

The UN released US$5 million dollars in emergency aid on Sunday and announced an appeal for donations soon after assessing the needs.

More than 550 wounded people, including nearly 230 minors, were being treated at the Herat Regional Hospital alone, according to the OCHA. Initial relief supplies have been distributed, including hygiene items, food, and drinking water.

The region had been shaken by several earthquakes on Saturday morning. The two most severe quakes had a magnitude of 6.3, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which monitors earthquake activity worldwide. - BERNAMA-dpa