Afghanistan: Earthquake and Floods - Information Bulletin n° 1

The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 185 countries.
In Brief

This Bulletin is being issued for information only, and reflects the situation and the information available at this time. The Federation is not seeking funding or other assistance from donors for this operation at this time.

The International Federation undertakes activities that are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to achieve the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

The Situation

An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale struck Emam Sahib district of Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan on 29 July 2006. This was followed by a second earthquake, measuring 5.3, that struck the same province on the same day. In the hours following the first earthquake, the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) deployed a team to carry out independent surveys in the affected areas. A joint surveying team, comprising of the ministry of rural rehabilitation and development and the department of disaster preparedness, were deployed to the affected areas soon after. It was recorded that approximately 148 houses were completely damaged, of which 50 came under category A (totally destroyed), 59 under category B (partially destroyed) and 39 under category C (least affected). So far only been one casualty has been recorded in Kunduz province.

Earlier, on 11 July 2006, an earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale, had struck Rostaq district of Takhar province in northern Afghanistan and there had been over 20 aftershocks since then.

In the eastern part of the country, the melting of snow and continuous rain caused floods in Koodee Kheel and Mama Kheel villages of Shir Zad district in Jalalabad on 30 July. The ARCS disaster management officer, with trained volunteers, was deployed to the affected areas on 31 July. According to the ARCS disaster management officer, it was found that 12 people were killed while 5 others were injured. The injured were transferred to the central hospital of Jalalabad for treatment. The findings of the assessment indicated that three houses were completely damaged and around 100 hectares of agricultural land was destroyed.

Red Cross and Red Crescent action

To respond to the earthquake and its aftershocks, the ARCS's Takhar branch, with support from the Federation and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), provided food and non-food items for 50 families. While the Federation supplied non-food items, ICRC provided food items. The items provided are shown in the table below:

In Kunduz, the ARCS, along with the Federation and ICRC, distributed food and non-food items to 149 families affected by the earthquake. As in Takhar, the Federation supplied non-food items while ICRC provided food items. The items distributed are shown in the table below:

In the areas affected by the flood, the ARCS Jalalabad branch handed out food and non-food items to 20 affected families listed under category A casualties (homes totally destroyed). The Federation supplied non-food items while the ICRC provided food items as shown in the table below:

For further information:

Afghanistan Red Crescent Society: Fatima Gailani (president); email: fatigli@yahoo.com; Mobile: +93.79.385.533

Federation country delegation in Afghanistan: Davood Pourkhanali (head of delegation); email: davood.pourkhanali@ifrc.org; mobile: +93.70.274.881; fax: +87.33.8228.0534

Federation South Asia regional delegation in India: Bob McKerrow (head of regional delegation); email: bob.mckerrow@ifrc.org; phone: +91.11. 2411.1125; fax: +91.11. 2411.1128

Federation Secretariat in Geneva (Asia Pacific department): Jagan Chapagain (regional officer); email: jagan.chapagain@ifrc.org; phone: +41.22.730.4316; fax: +41.22.733.0395 or Nelly Khrabraya (senior assistant); email: nelly.khrabraya@ifrc.org; phone: +41.22.730.4306; fax: +41.22.733.0395

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org