Thousands of earthquake victims still in need

An extra 1,400 families living in remote areas surrounding Nahrin District in northern Afghanistan, which was devastated by an earthquake last week, have been found to be in urgent need of aid, a UN official told IRIN on Thursday. The UN and other agencies had previously identified more than 20,000 families in the area in need of help.

"A joint assessment of 7,000 families around Nahrin District was carried out by the government and aid workers. They found an additional 1,400 families affected by the earthquake," the spokeswoman for the office of the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan, Stephanie Bunker, said in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The government had alerted the aid community to the situation in the area. Of the families identified, 900 had already received food aid and many had been given tents, blankets and warm clothing, according to Bunker.

More than 80 villages had been assessed by the joint teams, which identified three key locations, "very isolated areas and very difficult to reach", she added.

The village of Kogadai Bala and the valleys of Sugaan and Jelgah in Baghlan Province were also affected by the earthquake, which was initially thought to have only hit Nahrin District.

The death toll from the 25 March earthquake, which hit 6.1 on the Richter scale (the largest known quakes have been in the 8.5 to 8.6 range), remains at 800, despite media reports suggesting thousands of deaths, according to the UN.

An assessment team was also sent to the Burkah District near Nahrin, but no additional damage was found, Bunker said. Reports of tremors following the earthquake continued, with the last report on Tuesday.

"People are still very scared and are still sleeping outside," Bunker added.

Meanwhile, in Nahrin, where landslides have cut off water sources, aid workers are continuing to clear canals and springs.