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Afghan authorities on Wednesday significantly lowered the death toll from a series of quakes<\/a> that struck western Herat at the weekend to around 1,000.<\/p>\n The Taliban government had originally said over 2,000 people<\/a> had been killed in Saturday\u2019s magnitude 6.3 quake, centred on rural communities northwest of Herat city. The initial quake was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks.<\/p>\n Public Health Minister Qalandar Ebad on Wednesday lowered the toll to around 1,000, attributing the confusion to the remoteness of the area and double reporting by agencies involved in the rescue effort.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have over 1,000 people martyred from the first incident,\u201d Ebad told reporters in Kabul.<\/p>\n Another earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck on Wednesday morning in the same area, where thousands were spending a fourth night in the open.<\/p>\n The quake occurred at a shallow depth at around 5:10am local time (12:40am GMT), with its epicentre about 29 kilometres north of the city of Herat, the United States Geological Survey said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s horrible, the whole of Herat is terrified,\u201d said 32-year-old Abdul Qudos. \u201cWe are so scared that even when we see the trees moving (in the wind), we think it\u2019s another earthquake coming.\u201d<\/p>\n At least one person was killed and 120 injured by the latest quake, said Abdul Zahir Noorzai, ambulance manager for Herat Regional Hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people in these (rural) areas were living outside their homes which are already destroyed\u201d but were hit by fresh falling debris from unstable ruins, he told AFP<\/em>.<\/p>\n The quake was followed by aftershocks measuring 5.0 and 4.1, but an AFP<\/em> reporter said damage in Herat city \u2014 home to more than half a million \u2014 was minimal.<\/p>\n Many residents have camped in tents, cars and gardens since Saturday\u2019s magnitude 6.3 quake<\/a> and a series of powerful aftershocks.<\/p>\n Volunteers have been digging for survivors and bodies from the earlier quakes which totally destroyed at least six villages in rural Zenda Jan district and affected more than 12,000 people, the UN says.<\/p>\n \u201cOur children are so scared that they stay awake until the morning. They don\u2019t sleep,\u201d said 40-year-old Aziz Ahmad.<\/p>\n At Herat Regional Hospital, patients were being treated in an outdoor courtyard. Ambulances were arriving Wednesday morning, but most injuries appeared to be minor.<\/p>\n The earlier earthquakes completely destroyed at least 11 villages in Herat province\u2019s Zenda Jan district, according to the UN.<\/p>\n \u201cNot a single house is left, not even a room where we could stay at night,\u201d said 40-year-old Mohammad Naeem, who told AFP<\/em> he lost 12 relatives, including his mother, after Saturday\u2019s earthquakes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t live here anymore. You can see, our family got martyred here. How could we live here?\u201d<\/p>\n Local media reported that many Herat residents had been spending their nights living in tents in the open air due to a fear of aftershocks following the weekend tremors.<\/p>\n Providing shelter on a large scale will be a challenge for Afghanistan\u2019s Taliban authorities, who seized power<\/a> in August 2021, and have fractious relations with international aid organisations.<\/p>\n1 dead, over 100 injured in today\u2019s 6.3 quake<\/h2>\n