Türkiye announced on Tuesday it will send a train carrying more humanitarian aid to help the earthquake-affected people in Herat province of Afghanistan.

In a statement, Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said 39 tons of blankets, 8 tons of beds, 85 tons of tents, 40 tons of hygiene materials, 33 tons of clothing, 15 tons of generators, 240 tons of food, 30 tons of kitchen equipment, 400 portable toilets and 18 tons of heaters will be delivered to Afghanistan.

Last month, consecutive earthquakes in the Herat province of Afghanistan, located on the border with Iran, caused the death of approximately 2,500 people, forcing the Afghan authorities to issue an international aid request.

Ankara has previously dispatched two aircraft from the Ministry of National Defense, carrying search and rescue personnel and humanitarian aid to the region.

Quake-hit region

The earthquake was one of the deadliest tremors in Afghanistan in recent years. The impact of the earthquake extended into neighboring Iran, where residents of Mashhad, a city with a population of over 1 million, located approximately 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the earthquake's epicenter, reported feeling the shaking of their house walls.

Hemmed in by mountains, Afghanistan has a history of strong earthquakes, many in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan.

Severe earthquakes occur repeatedly in the region where the Arabian, Indian and Eurasian plates meet. A devastating quake killed more than 1,000 people in Afghanistan in 2022. After several decades of conflict, many houses are poorly built. Earthquakes therefore often cause major damage.