The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said preparations were underway to avoid a cholera outbreak in Afghanistan after Wednesday's earthquake, saying that half a million cases of acute, watery diarrhoea had already been reported.
"Choleraoutbreaks in theaftermath ofearthquakes are of particular and serious concern," OCHA said in a statement on Thursday. "Preparations to avoid anoutbreakareunderway."
OCHA also said that it was seeking to confirm that search and rescue operations were nearly finishedafterTaliban authorities indicated late on Wednesday that they were 90% completed.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 killed about 1,000 people, injured thousands, and destroyed more than 3,000 houses in Afghanistan on Wednesday.