Rescuers still at work after the terrible 5.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Afghanistan in the past few hours, causing at least a thousand deaths and 1,500 injuries.

However, the heavy rains that fall abundantly in the areas affected by the earthquake are, unfortunately, hindering excavation and rescue operations.

The earthquake that occurred in the early hours of yesterday in Afghanistan hit a poor rural region with difficult access to the border with Pakistan. Local authorities fear the death toll could rise further as many have been trapped under the rubble of their collapsed homes.

"It is very difficult to get information from the ground due to the bad (telephone) network," said the head of information and culture of Paktika province, Mohammad Amin Huzaifa. Furthermore, "it is difficult to access the affected sites " mainly because "the area was hit by floods last night," he added.

Heavy rains also caused landslides , damaging telephone and power lines.

(Unioneonline / vl)