- Afghan officials say nearly 5,000 people may have been
killed by a pair of devastating earthquakes that struck the mountains in
the northern part of Afghanistan.
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- At least 4,000 are injured and 20,000 homeless after
the two tremors struck near the town of Nahrin in the Hindu Kush mountains.
Early reports say that Nahrin, in the Baghlan province, may have been
leveled.
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- About 600 bodies were recovered by early afternoon from
villages still shaking from the aftershocks, Afghan defense officials told
The Associated Press news agency on Tuesday.
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- Powerful aftershocks, treacherous terrain and wintry
weather were hindering rescue parties working on the mountain slopes,
officials
said.
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- The epicenter, about 90 miles north of Kabul, is a
seven-hour
overland ride.
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- According to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site, the
quakes struck the area on Monday evening and early Tuesday morning.
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- A 6.0 magnitude quake rattled the region at 7:26 p.m.
Monday (9:56 a.m. ET), while a 5.0 magnitude quake hit the same region
at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday (4:45 p.m. ET Monday).
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- While the death toll was initially reported at about
100, later reports from the quake-prone area showed just how much damage
had been done.
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- Because of primitive communications it often takes days
for reports to become available.
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- Earthquakes and seismic activity are common in this part
of the world and particularly in the Hindu Kush mountains, though they
are not usually felt over such a wide area.
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- A 6.9-magnitude quake based in the same region on May
30, 1998, killed more than 4,000 people and injured many more
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- Earlier this month a quake measuring 7.2 also hit the
region 240 kilometers north-northeast of Kabul, and was felt over a wide
area including Pakistan, northern India and the Soviet republics of
Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan and Kirghizia.
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- That quake was the strongest in the region since 1983,
killing an estimated 100 people, leaving another 500 homeless and
destroying
1,000 acres of land and livestock.
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- While quakes of magnitude 6.0 cause little damage in
well-designed buildings, they can cause major havoc in poorly constructed
buildings.
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- There were no reports of injuries to U.S. troops
stationed
at Bagram Air Base near Kabul and at Kandahar.
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- But America would assist the interim government and local
Afghans in dealing with this tragedy, U.S. special envoy Zalmay Kahalilzad
said.
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