March 27, 2002
MSF Reaches Area Leveled by Earthquake

Brussels/Mazar-i-Sharif, March 26, 2002 - Early today, a six-person team from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) arrived in Nahrin, the town most affected by a powerful earthquake that rocked the remote northern province of Baghlan last night.

The team set up three large tent hospitals to care for survivors, and the tents filled to capacity almost at once. The most severely wounded have been referred to MSF-supported hospitals in Taloqan and Pol-i-Khumri, while additional personnel and emergency supplies are being rushed to the scene from other MSF bases in Afghanistan, an effort hampered by continuing aftershocks.

The initial earthquake measured 6.0 on the Richter scale, and could be felt as far away as Islamabad, Pakistan. Hundreds are feared dead, with thousands injured and left homeless.