Afghanistan: Herat Earthquake Response Situation Report No. 1 - As of 27 October 2023

This report is produced by OCHA Afghanistan in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 7 to 24 October 2023. The next report will be issued on or around 2 November

HIGHLIGHTS

• Humanitarian response efforts are ongoing following the three powerful (6.3 magnitude) earthquakes and aftershocks that struck Herat Province in early October.

• Assistance is urgently required to address the critical, timesensitive needs of the most affected populations over winter.
In total, US $93.6 million is required to rapidly deliver lifesaving response activities and support early recovery efforts over the next six months for 114,000 people.

• To date, humanitarian partners have reached approximately 7,300 households with more than $1.9 million in cash assistance, including cash for food, cash for transitional shelter, cash for winterization, full and half packages of multipurpose cash assistance. At a sectoral level, 103,000 people have already been reached with food, and 43,000 with shelter support of some kind.

• Additionally, all the 394 villages have been assessed using the Multisectoral Rapid Assessment Form (MSRAF) assessment tool.

• As of 24 October 2023, US$24.3 million has been pledged or received for the earthquake response, leaving a gap of US$69.3 million (74 per cent).

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Between 7 and 15 October, three powerful (6.3 magnitude) earthquakes struck Herat Province, affecting 1.6 million people with high intensity shaking (MMI 6+) and leaving at least 114,000 in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Latest assessments show that the first two earthquakes on 7 and 11 October left 1,480 people dead and 1,950 wounded, with available satellite imagery indicating that 513 villages were impacted, and assessments ongoing. To date, nearly 43,400 people across six districts are reported to be directly affected by the recent earthquakes, with Injil and Zindajan districts worst affected. More than half of all earthquake-affected people are in Injil, with the majority of the more than 3,330 destroyed homes assessed to date located in Zindajan. Schools, health facilities, and other infrastructure also impacted by the earthquakes, with 21,300 buildings estimated to have sustained damage. Following the earthquakes, families are living in the open, in makeshift shelters, or in informal settlement sites, leaving them vulnerable to weather, health and other protection hazards.

The earthquakes have struck vulnerable communities – which are already grappling with decades of conflict and underdevelopment – and left them with little resilience to cope with multiple simultaneous shocks. They come at the start of Afghanistan’s lean season and immediately before winter, when households’ food resources are most constrained.

Damage to water and sanitation points has raised concerns of disease outbreaks, particularly acute watery diarrhoea (AWD). Immediate investment into activities to detect and prevent the spread of AWD and other infectious diseases will be critical. With damage to schools and community-based education facilities, children need to safely resume education.
Protection support is also needed, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women and children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.