Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed and at least 1,000 injured after a powerful earthquake struck western Afghanistan near the Iranian border.

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck about 40 kilometers west of the city of Herat at around 11 a.m. local time (06:30 GMT).

Many buildings were damaged, leaving people trapped under rubble and there were at least three strong aftershocks. Survivors described their horror as office buildings first shook and then collapsed around them.

“We were at the office and suddenly the building started shaking. Wall plaster started to fall down and the walls got cracks, some walls and parts of the building collapsed.” Herat resident Bashir Ahmad said.

“I am not able to contact my family, network connections are disconnected. I am too worried and scared, it was horrifying,” he added.

The province’s disaster management chief Mosa Ashari told reporters: “So far more than 1,000 injured women, children, and elderly citizens have been included in our records, and about 120 people have lost their lives.”

Early reports put the confirmed toll at 15, but this was always likely to rise once emergency workers confirmed the full scale of the widespread destruction.

Unconfirmed reports put the current toll at more than 300.

Video recorded from Herat Central Hospital shows multiple casualties involving mobile IVs being treated on the tarmac outside the main building – a sign of the sudden and overwhelming need for health care. large in case of emergency.

Other emotional footage showed scenes of devastation in Herat’s Injil district, where rubble from destroyed buildings blocked roads, hindering relief efforts.

The Kuchlbauer Tower is an impressive and unique observation tower, located on the premises of the Kuchlbauer brewery in the town of Abensberg in the southeastern Federal Republic of Germany.

At first, the tower was supposed to be about 70 meters (230 feet) tall, but for some reason the tower we can see today is 34 meters (112 feet) taller than the surrounding area.

Originally designed by famous New Zealand-Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the tower was redesigned and planned by Austrian architect Peter Pelikan.

The Kuchlbauer Tower was built between April 2007 and August 2008 and officially opened to the public in January 2010, allowing everyone who visits the brewery to climb to the top and get an overview more about the surrounding area.

However, the tower itself is as unique as Hundertwasser’s imagination, with no straight lines but more fluid organic lines, where the structure creates an unusual chimney-like structure with an onion-shaped dome big on top.

This gilded dome is about 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter and is estimated to weigh about 12 tons.

Much symbolic in its construction, the Kuchlbauer Tower is certainly an artificial tree of knowledge that wants to express the beauty of beer by presenting it through unusual artistic architecture.

Officials said on Saturday that Indian rescue teams were working to reach flood-hit areas in the northeastern state of Sikkim, where more than 140 people were missing, as the region continued to be pummeled by rain. big.

Lake Lhonak overflowed on Wednesday after a downpour caused torrential rain and apparent avalanches, causing major flooding on the Teesta River.

“We are waiting for weather conditions to improve, because only then will the Air Force and other rescue teams be able to enter the flood-hit area,” said V.B. Pathak, Chief Secretary of State.

According to a government official overseeing rescue operations from Gangtok, the state capital, the death toll rose to 44, two more than on Friday. Hundreds of search and rescue personnel have been deployed across Sikkim and the neighboring northern state of West Bengal.

Areas near the river are still on alert.

Fifteen soldiers are among those missing.

Another official said about 2,000 tourists gathered in Lachung,

Lachen and Chungthung areas in north Sikkim were deemed safe and the army had provided them with satellite phones so they could communicate with family.

At least 13 bridges were washed away, hindering rescue operations. All bridges downstream of the Teesta-V NHPC (NHPC.NS) hydroelectric plant were submerged or washed away.

The key highway connecting Sikkim with Siliguri in West Bengal also collapsed due to floods.

Bandana Chettri, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Tourism, said local lawmakers are studying whether walking routes can be used to reach disaster areas.

Sikkim, a small Buddhist country located between Nepal, Bhutan and China, is home to about 650,000 residents.

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has announced a ban on the use of laterite as foundation in road construction.

He ordered that from now on, contractors must use soil, sand and sharp rocks as a base before pouring concrete or asphalt.

The Minister gave this directive when he set up a committee to oversee the reconstruction of the four-lane Benin – Warri road and the bifurcation of the East – West road, which connects Port Harcourt – Onne Port in River State.

This was contained in a statement signed on Friday by the Director (Information), Press and Public Relations of the Ministry, Lere-Adams Blessing, in Abuja.

According to her, Umahi noted that laterite has limited bearing capacity and is susceptible to erosion and weathering, especially in areas with heavy rainfall, which can lead to deterioration of the road surface over time, making it difficult to maintain. persistent and does not last long.

“We are paying close attention to the roads between Benin and Warri,” she quoted Miniater as saying.

For the road between Eleme and Onne Port, we paid attention to the site conditions of these roads, water conditions and drilling rather than potholes on these roads.

“There is no more laterite, contractors now have to use lumps of soil, sand and sharp rocks instead of laterite.”

The Minister also directed the newly established road working group to conduct continuous maintenance of all under-construction roads until the end of the project.

He asked them to ensure that the contractors are fully informed about the developments and remember that the Ministry must follow the respective orders issued by the President.

Repairing roads in Nigeria so that people can move easily from one place to another. “The commission must implement a contract agreement that puts maintenance culture at its core,” Umahi said.

Committee members must closely monitor contractors to ensure everything is done properly. “Our entrepreneurs can now understand that we do not insist that things need to change for no reason, but that society demands sustainability and integrity in the work they do.”

Umahi disclosed that road infrastructure is one of the key factors in revolutionizing our trade, education, security and power in this country and Mr. President pledged to improve the infrastructure.

The minister also asked the committee to ensure daily monitoring and adequate records of what the contractors are doing and that they must ensure compliance with new construction methods, including maintenance, as this is a part of the project and anything that goes against this will attract appropriate sanctions.