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CNN Live Today

Powerful Aftershock Rocks Northeastern Afghanistan Today

Aired March 27, 2002 - 11:04   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A powerful aftershock rocked northeastern Afghanistan today, two days after a earthquakes killed hundreds of people and leveled one village.

Senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers is just back from the quake zone with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORESPONDENT (on camera): Powerful aftershocks continue to hammer the already decimated villages in northeastern Afghanistan, particulary Nahari (ph) and the Baghran province. It is one tragedy compounding yet another. People are living out of doors. They can not go into homes their homes. Their homes structurally are no longer safe.

Even if a structure, a building is left for people to return inside to, they have to sleep outside at night. They live in the few tents that have made it through, supplied by relief agencies, because these aftershocks continue to weaken buildings and knock them down. And everytime the building get knocked down, they send up huge clouds of dust, and the aftershocks trigger landslides as well.

We could see very few -- very little evidence of relief agencies working in this particular area, many, many fathers were carrying infant children by donkeys or by foot, walking five miles or more, trying to get to an area were there is -- there have been helicopters landing. Those helicopters, then, in turn, take the children out to regional hospitals.

Still, most Afghans in this earthquake-struck region are living out of doors. They have very little water, they have very little food, virtually no medicine, and they are still waiting for relief supplies that are only now beginning to trickle in and nowhere near equal to the task of what is needed.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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