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Transcript/ScriptAfghanistan Earthquakes (TV)
HEADLINE: Earthquakes Rock Afghanistan as Death Toll Climbs
TEASER: Earthquakes and aftershocks level parts of Afghanistan; Taliban spokesperson puts death toll at 2,000
PUBLISHED AT: 10/08/2023 at 1:37p
BYLINE: Arash Arabasadi
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: AP/ TALIBAN BAKHTAR NEWS AGENCY/ REUTERS/ AFP
PRODUCER: Arash Arabasadi
SCRIPT EDITORS: Page; caw
NOTE: PART GRAPHIC CONTENT
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP/ TALIBAN BAKHTAR NEWS AGENCY/ REUTERS/ AFP
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 2:05
VID APPROVED BY: mia
TYPE:
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO))
[[More than two thousand people have died in western Afghanistan following earthquakes and aftershocks, two with a magnitude of six-point-three magnitude, according to a Taliban spokesperson. The United Nations says hundreds of homes have been destroyed. As VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, those numbers are expected to rise. A warning, this story contains sensitive content that some viewers may find disturbing.]]
((mandatory cg TALIBAN BAKHTAR NEWS AGENCY))
((mandatory cg GRAPHIC CONTENT))
((NARRATOR))
Rescuers pull a living child from under debris following multiple six-point-three magnitude earthquakes that struck Afghanistan on Saturday.
((mandatory cg TALIBAN BAKHTAR NEWS AGENCY))
((NARRATOR))
It was a bright moment on an otherwise solemn day that one Taliban official said resulted in more than two thousand deaths and more than nine thousand injuries.
[RADIO TRACK: Mullah Janan Sayeeq, Taliban spokesperson of the disaster ministry, speaking at a news conference in Kabul as provided by Reuters.]
((Mullah Janan Sayeeq, Disaster Ministry)) ((MAN 1, PASHTO))
“We have tried our best to treat victims. Ten rescue teams have been formed from different national and international institutions in addition to evacuation and rescue operations… The blood distribution process is going on, too, and water and shelter(s) have been provided for people in (the) district.”
((NARRATOR))
According to CBS News, the Taliban expect the death toll to rise.
Families have taken to sleeping in the streets away from structures that could collapse at any moment. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the earthquakes affected eight villages and destroyed more than 1,300 homes.
Despite official claims of delivering aid, for some now living outside, little has come their way.
[RADIO TRACK: Area resident Nek Mohammad speaking with AFP.]
((Nek Mohammad, Sarboland Village Resident)) ((MAN 2, DARI))
“We came home, and we saw there was nothing left. Everything had turned to sand. We started to work with shovels and whatever we had to take out the women and children from the rubble. We have 20 to 30 people who died. We have nothing. No blankets or anything else.”
((mandatory cg GRAPHIC CONTENT))
((NARRATOR))
Many survivors now depend on lifesaving care in crowded emergency rooms like this one in Herat province.
((NARRATOR))
Afghanistan is a mountainous country prone to earthquakes. According to the Reuters news agency, diplomats and aid officials say the ruling Taliban’s strict restrictions on women, and human rights in general, have led to donors and aid agencies backing out of the country.
The Washington Post reports first responders compared the damage of these recent quakes to one from 2022 that killed at least one thousand people… one of the deadliest natural disasters in Afghanistan in decades.
((Arash Arabasadi, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Washington D. C.
Embargo DateOctober 8, 2023 15:01 EDT
Byline
Arash Arabasadi, VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
