Quake death toll set to rise

The death toll from Sunday's devastating earthquake in Afghanistan is set to rise, a UN official told IRIN in the Afghan capital, Kabul on Tuesday. "We don't have enough reports from enough places to give accurate casualty figures," the UN spokeswoman, Stephanie Bunker, said. "Nonetheless, it is fair to assume that the death toll may rise." Bunker's comments came after unconfirmed reports of up to 150 dead in the mountainous Central Asian country. Although reports on the extent of damage are unclear, in Kabul, three districts were badly affected and 32 families had reportedly lost their homes. Unconfirmed reports suggest that six people were killed and up to 20 injured. In the Jurm district of the northeastern province of Badakhshan, some 340 houses were destroyed, Bunker said. She confirmed 70 deaths in and around Surkunda village in the Khulm district of Afghanistan's northern Samangan Province, 38 km north of Aybak, where mountains collapsed in a landslide into a river, causing a flood. The governor of the province had earlier reported 50 deaths and 100 missing. Following an assessment mission by UN agencies and international nongovernmental organisations, 400 families were evacuated from the area and were taken to a safe place where they could be assisted with blankets, tents and food to begin with, she added. "Three hundred families are sheltered on an island surrounded by the river, and will need assistance in the next few days," she stressed. An additional 1,000 families were still in Khulm district, and although they were not in immediate danger, they were in need of aid, Bunker said. Work to clear the site in Samangan was already under way. "A technical mission will go to the area today to bring equipment from the authorities and from Halo Trust in order to remove 30,000 cubic metres of debris, rocks, trees and mud that are blocking the flow of the river," she explained. The blockage is also obstructing the water supply to three districts there. Aid, including 30,000 blankets and 1,000 tents, are being pre-positioned in the area, according to Bunker. The UN spokeswoman said it was difficult to know for how long local people would be displaced, but confirmed that they would be assisted for that period of time. "Families will need to be assisted until their shelters are rebuilt," she said. When the earthquake - which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale - struck over the weekend, it jolted parts of the central Asian nation of Tajikistan, Pakistan and the Indian capital, New Delhi, as well as Afghanistan.