Rescuers battle against bad weather to reach remote areas of eastern Afghanistan after a powerful earthquake killed at least 1,150 people and displaced tens of thousands more.

“The people are extremely needy for food and clean water,” Afghanistan’s health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman told Reuters.

“We ask the international community, humanitarian organisations to help us for food and medicine, the survivor might catch diseases because they don’t have proper houses and shelters for living,” Sharafat Zaman said.

According to the WHO “on site, 8 ambulances and 2o mobile health teams provided by WHO helped transport victims and bodies from affected areas to the nearest hospitals. A neurosurgeon, doctors, nurses and a trauma management officer were deployed to support hospitals caring for the injured and implementation of mass casualty management plans in the facilities.

WHO is also deploying mental health and psychosocial support experts to provide emergency counselling to families affected by the earthquake.”

Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership has conceded it lacks the resources to help and has called for international support.

Poor communications and lack of proper roads are hampering relief efforts in a country already grappling with a humanitarian crisis which has deteriorated since the Taliban took over last August.

The United Nations and other agencies have called for humanitarian assistance, but many governments are wary of dealing directly with the Taliban.

Qatar, Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey are among those ferrying in aid.

India said Thursday it has sent a technical team to Kabul.

Aljazeera/Reuters/WHO.