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CNN Live Today

Terrain, Weather and Aftershocks Making It Hard to Reach Victims of Earthquake in Afghanistan

Aired March 26, 2002 - 13:08   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Let me get to Afghanistan right now. Rough terrain and harsh weather and some powerful aftershocks making it all but impossible to reach the victims of a devastating earthquake there. At the moment, officials estimate 1,800 dead. There may be thousands more dead, too, especially at or near that epicenter said to be about 100 miles north of Kabul.

The latest on the ground in Kabul, the Afghan capital, and CNN's Walter Rodgers.

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WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Afghan officials estimate that the final fatality count will go in the thousands, perhaps as high as 4,000 by one estimate earlier in the day. But, again, the government appears to be very disorganized. Recall this is a government which has only been on its feet for three months now and is totally ill-equipped, at this point, to actually conduct a major rescue operation in a disaster of this proportion.

Fortunately, there are United Nations aid agencies in the Afghanistan area. They are speeding supplies to the area. A U.N. helicopter conducted a survey of the epicenter of the quake in the Bagram province. Also, we should point out that the provincial capital of Nahrin was completely flattened, according to officials here in Kabul. And 15 villages were destroyed. As many as 30,000 people are said to be homeless. That is very serious at this time of the year in northern Afghanistan, where the epicenter of the quake was. Of course, that means very cold nights, people badly in need of tents and blankets and the normal supplies that they will not have because they've been driven from their homes.

The magnitude of the quakes were - one was about 6.0, the other about 5.0. And, of course, there were many aftershocks thereafter. This is a very high earthquake-prone area. In 1998, this very same province was hit, and 7,000 people were killed in an earthquake then.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, Kabul.

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