Afghan men stand on the debris of damaged houses after the recent earthquake, in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan October 10, 2023. REUTERS/Ali Khara
(Reuters) - The United States is providing $12 million in immediate humanitarian assistance to respond to earthquakes in Afghanistan this month that have killed and injured thousands, according to a U.S. Agency for International Development statement seen by Reuters on Thursday.
Multiple earthquakes struck in the western province of Herat on Saturday and Wednesday, destroying entire villages in the war-torn country, which has long relied on foreign aid that has dried up since the Taliban took over in 2021.
Aid agencies launched fresh appeals for funds to deal with the fallout of deadly earthquakes as local authorities called on Thursday for urgent help for thousands of people left homeless in the aftermath of the tremors.
USAID said in the statement that the assistance to be announced Thursday, first reported by Reuters, will include support for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to continue to reach those affected by the earthquake, including with emergency shelter kits, cooking and water collection materials, blankets, clothing, and other items.
"USAID will continue to stand with the Afghan people to respond to humanitarian needs," USAID said in the statement.
Afghanistan's Taliban-run government has put out conflicting numbers on the death toll, with the disaster management ministry saying over 2,400 had been killed but the health ministry confirming just over 1,000. The U.N.'s humanitarian office on Tuesday put the death toll at 1,294, but from just one district.
Death tolls often change when information comes in from more remote parts of a country where decades of war have left infrastructure in a shambles, and relief and rescue operations difficult to organize and coordinate.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
