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CNN Live At Daybreak

In Earthquakes in Afghanistan, as Many as 1,800 May Have Been Killed

Aired March 26, 2002 - 05:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And we want to talk more about those earthquakes in northern Afghanistan. As we've said, as many as 1,800 people may have been killed. The U.S. Geological Survey Web site says the moderate quakes struck about 100 miles north of Kabul in the Hindu Kush region. A 6.0 magnitude quake hit first and then about seven hours later a 5.0 magnitude quake hit that same region.

And we want to get more on these quakes that are said to have killed all of those people and injured thousands more. Our Walter Rodgers is in Kabul, some 100 miles south of where those quakes hit. He joins us this morning with more details -- could you feel any tremors there where you are?

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, we could, Carol. It hit Kabul. The earthquake hit Kabul last night about 8:45 in the evening local time. I was sitting at a desk. I felt the desk and the floor start shaking. I knew instantly what it was and asked my colleagues hey, and said to my colleagues, hey, we're in an earthquake. I moved to a door jamb quickly because that's the safest place to be.

In Kabul, it was relatively mild. However, it only lasted a few seconds. Nothing like the magnitude they're getting north of here about 200 kilometers in the Bagram province (ph).

Now, Baglan is at the western end of the Hindu Kush. The capital province is Bankhahareen (ph) and that has reportedly been almost totally destroyed. Of course, relief agencies are in Afghanistan and they are speeding supplies to that area. The initial reports from the United Nations said that only 100 people had been killed. However, there was a serious upgrade of those estimates today, ironically coming from the U.S. Embassy, where President Bush's special envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, was holding a news conference and then he told everyone just how severe this quake was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: I've been informed to let you know that Chairman Karzai has just announced that 1,800 Afghans died as a result of the earthquake last night. As I did at the beginning, I would like to offer our condolences, our sympathies, and we will provide assistance to the interim authority and the local Afghans in dealing with this tragedy. Thank you very much. (END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: The defense ministry here in Kabul estimates 4,000 people were injured, 20,000 homes destroyed and the conditions, the statistics will only get worse because building construction in this part of the world is rudimentary at best -- mud bricks, adobe bricks, no foundations at all. The worst part of the tragedy, of course, is that it struck in the evening when most people were in their homes so many homes would simply have collapsed on whole families inside.

We're told, of course, that the relief agencies are moving quickly to that area. The good news, of course, is that there are many relief agencies, United Nations, international and other agencies here, NGOs, because everyone's trying to get Afghanistan on its feet. The bad news is the Afghan government itself has only been in operation for three months, so it was pretty well unprepared for all of this.

One footnote to this earthquake is, of course, the Baglan Province is especially earthquake prone. In 1998 there was another quake in this very area which killed 7,000 people -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Just awful. I'm amazed that you knew immediately it was an earthquake where you were and not something else.

RODGERS: I lived on the edge of the Afro-Syrian Rift (ph), one of the most active earthquake zones, for five and a half years and I went to school at the University of Washington in Seattle and they know what earthquakes are in the U.S.

COSTELLO: Enough said.

Thank you.

Walter Rodgers reporting live for us from Afghanistan this morning.

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