Afghan residents clear debris from a damaged house after earthquake in Sarbuland village of Zendeh Jan district of Herat province on Oct 7,2023 (PHOTO / AFP)

HERAT, Afghanistan - The death toll of several earthquakes in western Afghanistan has risen to 2,053, spokesman for the national disaster authority Mullah Janan Shaeq said Sunday.

Addressing a press conference in Herat, the official noted that 9,240 others were injured and 1,340 houses were destroyed in the earthquakes that shook Herat and the neighboring Badghis and Farah provinces on Saturday.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.2 jolted Afghanistan on Saturday, followed by several aftershocks

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Rescue teams were deployed while about 1,000 injured people have been taken to the hospital in the provincial capital Herat city. Twelve villages in Zindajan and Ghorian districts of Herat were destroyed, said Mawlawi Musa Ashari, Herat's provincial director for the National Disaster Management Authority.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.2 jolted Afghanistan on Saturday, followed by several aftershocks.

Afghan children rest under a blanket beside damaged houses after earthquake in Sarbuland village of Zendeh Jan district of Herat province on October 7,2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

The first tremor occurred around 11:10 local time (0640 GMT), forcing local residents to leave their houses, locals said.

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Numerous houses have been partially damaged or utterly destroyed in the quakes, the disaster management authority said, adding that provincial government officials have been instructed to coordinate their necessary efforts with the aid agencies to supply humanitarian assistance to the quake-affected families.