Afghans flee western region after fresh earthquake kills two

Two dead, 528 prisoners freed, 20,000 affected in Herat, Afghanistan due to 6.3 magnitude quake. Residents flee, tents damaged by dust storms, WHO reports 1,400 fatalities. Taliban gov't, aid orgs struggle to provide shelter, aid in crisis-stricken region.

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed two persons in western Afghanistan on Sunday, with damaged prisons evacuated and residents fleeing a region where tremors have claimed at least 1,000 lives this past week.

Since October 7, a series of potent quakes have jolted Herat province, levelling whole villages, burying families and leaving thousands homeless as winter approaches.

In rural Injil district, near the epicentre of Sunday's quake, 64-year-old Rustam narrowly escaped when tremors destroyed the remnants of his home and buried belongings he was trying to salvage at around 8:00 am (0330 GMT).

"We heard a very terrible and scary sound," he said. "When we entered the house, like the power of God, it sounded like a bomb blast, and collapsed."

His neighbour in Ghar Mushak village, 57-year-old Khudadad, also said a home he had hoped to repair was reduced to rubble.

"We people are hopeless," he said. "We have nowhere to stay, it's like we are in a ruined desert."

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said two new fatalities and 154 injuries were registered at Herat Regional Hospital, where patients were being ferried on stretchers and treated outside under gazebos.