In pics: Afghanistan struggles after powerful earthquake wreaks havoc, claims over 2,000 lives

1/10: A powerful 6.3 magnitude struck western Afghanistan, flattening homes, and reducing villages into rubble. / Image: AP

2/10: Figures couldn’t be independently verified, but the toll would eclipse compared to an earthquake that hit the eastern Afghanistan in June 2022. / Image: AP

3/10: Saturday’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit a far more densely populated area, near Afghanistan’s fourth largest city, Herat. It was followed by strong aftershocks. / Image: AP

4/10: US Geological Survey said that the quake’s epicenter was about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Herat city. / Image: AP

5/10: After the quake, the Afghans attempted to dig out dead and injured with their hands in Herat, clambering over rocks and debris. / Image: AP

6/10: Frantic people pulled out a baby girl from a collapsed building. / Image: AP

7/10: As villages and homes were destroyed, Abdul Wahid Rayan, a spokesman at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said that the death toll is higher than reported. / Image: AP

8/10: United Nations migration agency deployed four ambulances with doctors and psychosocial support counselors to the regional hospital. / Image: AP

9/10: Irfanullah Sharafzai, a spokesman for the Afghan Red Crescent Society, said seven teams were busy with rescue efforts. / Image: AP

10/10: Besides the 2,060 dead, 1,240 people are injured and 1,320 houses are completely destroyed, Taliban spokesperson said. / Image: AP