At least one person has died and nearly 150 people were injured when four new earthquakes hit western Afghanistan after multiple earthquakes and aftershocks killed hundreds in the same region in just over a week.
The epicenter of the largest earthquake on the morning of October 15, measured as 6.3 magnitude, was just outside Herat, the capital of Herat Province, where deadly quakes on October 7 flattened entire villages.
A second earthquake of 5.4 magnitude was recorded in the same region on October 15, and two smaller earthquakes were also reported.
The World Health Organization said that more than 120 people injured in the latest earthquakes had been hospitalized.
Tremors were also felt in neighboring Farah Province to the south, and schools were closed in Iran's Razavi Khorasan Province, which borders Herat Province.
Residents of Herat Province, already reeling from the recent earthquakes that left many homeless, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi they were attempting to leave the area out of concerns of more earthquakes and aftershocks.
Sayed Kazim Rafiqi, 42, a Herat city resident who was heading to a hospital to donate blood, told the AP news agency that he had never seen such devastation.
"We have to help in any way possible," he said.
The epicenter of the first earthquake on October 7 was some 40 kilometers northwest of Herat, which has some 700,000 people in the city and the surrounding area. It was followed by at least three major aftershocks.
Taliban officials initially said that at least 2,000 people were killed due to the October 7 earthquakes before lowering the toll to around 1,000 on October 11.
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Strong New Quake Rattles Western Afghanistan
The revised figures were released after another earthquake, this one measuring 6.3 magnitude and killing one and injuring 152, hit the region early on October 11.
Hundreds of homes have been destroyed due to the earthquakes and aftershocks, leaving many people living in makeshift shelters or even among the rubble as cold weather moves in and landslides have been reported.
The October 7 earthquakes were reportedly the worst to hit the country, already suffering from multiple humanitarian crises brought on by drought and poverty, in more than 25 years.