Afghans across Canada have gathered together to support one another and plan fundraisers as they scour the news for details about an earthquake that rocked their home country on Saturday, reportedly killing more than 2,000 people.

Farid Teimoury, vice-president of the Afghan Society of Calgary, said he feels helpless watching videos of the devastation wrought by the powerful earthquake in western Afghanistan from more than 10,000 kilometres away in Alberta.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a guilt that you have, right? You害羞草研究所檙e not there to be able to help them out,害羞草研究所� Teimoury said Sunday.

害羞草研究所淎ll the disasters that have happened, the fall of the government and the earthquake on top of that, and people being displaced 害羞草研究所� it害羞草研究所檚 hurtful, to be honest. And the most we can do is just gather up a couple of dollars and send it out, and hope for the best.害羞草研究所�

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicentre of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake was about 40 kilometres northwest of Herat, Afghanistan害羞草研究所檚 fourth largest city. The quake hit at about 11 a.m. local time and was followed by a series of strong aftershocks.

Entire villages were flattened, bodies were trapped under collapsed houses and locals waited for help without even shovels to dig people out. Videos circulating on social media showed people scrambling to unearth others from beneath piles of rubble with their bare hands.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 horrible to see,害羞草研究所� Teimoury said.

He was part of a group of about 35 Afghans in Calgary who were gathered until late Saturday night to watch the news unfold. Several in the group, including Teimoury害羞草研究所檚 wife, are from Herat province. Luckily, they害羞草研究所檝e all been able to reach their family members and friends back home.

The group is meeting again on Sunday to work out the final details of a fundraiser, which it hopes to launch shortly, Teimoury said.

A Taliban government spokesman said the quake killed more than 2,000 people, but that figure had not been independently verified as of Sunday afternoon. If the toll is correct, the earthquake is among the deadliest to strike the country in two decades.

On the east coast of Canada, Afghans in Newfoundland were preparing to launch an online fundraiser through a crowdsourcing platform.

Maisam Najafizada, an assistant public health professor at Memorial Universty in St. John害羞草研究所檚, said Afghan Canadians in the city had begun sharing plans and information in a group chat. He has a friend with family near Herat who has not yet been able to contact them, he added.

It was 害羞草研究所渆xtremely difficult害羞草研究所� to watch the videos surfacing online of the quake害羞草研究所檚 aftermath, Najafizada said, noting that he found it particularly chilling to see so much rubble and an absence of any heavy equipment or machinery to help people dig through it.

害羞草研究所淚t shows the lack of resources and lack of coordination, communication or anything in the 24 hours that have passed so far,害羞草研究所� he said Sunday. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 an absolute situation of absolute helplessness at the moment 害羞草研究所� Hopefully, some help will arrive.害羞草研究所�

Nearly 97,000 people in Canada identified as Afghan in the 2021 census. The federal government says more than 39,000 refugees from Afghanistan have since arrived in Canada following the Taliban害羞草研究所檚 takeover of the country in August 2021.

Melanie Joly, Canada害羞草研究所檚 minister of foreign affairs, said in a social media post Saturday that her thoughts were with Afghans as they dealt with the destruction.

害羞草研究所淐anada stands ready to support the Afghan people,害羞草研究所� she wrote on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

As of Sunday, Global Affairs Canada said it was not aware of any Canadians missing or killed as a result of the quake. The agency said its registry of Canadians abroad listed 880 Canadians in Afghanistan, though it noted that registration is voluntary.

Ahmed Hussen, Canada害羞草研究所檚 minister of international development, said Ottawa is closely monitoring the situation.

害羞草研究所淎s we continue to learn more about the devastating earthquake, our thoughts go out to the victims害羞草研究所� family and loved ones,害羞草研究所� he wrote on X.

Doctors Without Borders said the quake did not cause any damage to the regional hospital in Herat, where the international medical aid charity operates the pediatric in-patient wards.

害羞草研究所淲hen the first earthquake hit 害羞草研究所� our teams rushed to evacuate all the children who were admitted, many in critical condition,害羞草研究所� Lisa Macheiner, project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Herat, said in an email.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檝e dispatched mass casualty kits to treat up to 400 wounded patients and stationed a medical team at the hospital害羞草研究所檚 emergency room for further support if necessary.害羞草研究所�

The agency said on X that it had set up five medical tents at the hospital, where more than 300 patients had been treated as of Saturday afternoon.