Herat Earthquakes 2023: Post-Disaster Needs Assessment

Volume A

Executive Summary

Introduction

Four magnitude (Mw) 6.3 earthquakes on October 7, 11, and 15, 2023, in Herat Province in Afghanistan led to an unprecedented disaster and destruction. The earthquakes took the lives of more than 1,500 people and injured over 2,600.

Following the earthquakes, the United Nations (UN) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as PDNA Technical Lead, the World Bank (WB), the European Union (EU), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched the Herat Earthquakes Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). The objective of the Herat PDNA is to estimate the impact of the earthquakes on physical assets and service delivery in the most affected areas. The PDNA covers nine districts with about 2.2 million inhabitants, of whom 275,256 (around 13 percent) were directly impacted by the earthquakes, including over 142,000 women and over 133,000 men. The assessment also looks at the macroeconomic and human impact of the earthquakes on economic outlook and the population's well-being.

It provides preliminary estimates for the recovery of sectors to meet critical basic human needs, taking into account the needs of the most vulnerable groups.