Herat Earthquakes: Flash Update #5 Earthquakes in Herat Province, Western Region, Afghanistan 13 October 2023 [EN/PS/FA]

Highlights

• Communities in Herat Province are reeling from a series of shallow, strong (6M+) earthquakes and aftershocks which have rocked the same area in Western Afghanistan since 7 October 2023.

• On 12 October, a dust storm in Zindajan, Kohsan and Kushk / Rabate-Sangai districts destroyed several hundred tents, including 60 per cent of those at the Gazergah Transit Centre (GTC). Around 250 people were temporarily relocated from the GTC to Babaji school in Herat City where they require non-food items and food assistance.

• Damaged housing, plus the fear of returning home due to persistent aftershocks, have led to several informal sites sprouting across Herat City. These displacements sites are being assessed and a humanitarian response is underway.

• At the time of writing, more than 19,250 people (3,197 families) have been directly impacted by the earthquakes across Zindajan (1,398 families), Injil (914 families), Kushk / Rabat-e-Sangai (385), Ghulan (360 families), Herat (121 families) and Khosan (19) districts. Humanitarian responders are continuing to assess communities, with numbers expected to rise over the coming days.

• To date, 1,384 people (759 females and 625 males) are reported to have been killed and 1,853 people injured (1,137 females and 716 males) by the earthquakes. Women and children are overly represented within reported casualties.

• Assessments completed to date indicate that 3,067 homes have been affected across Zindajan, Injil, Kushk / Rabat-e-Sangai, Ghulan, Herat and Khosan districts, including 2,499 which have been completely destroyed, 363 which have been severely damaged and 250 which have been moderately damaged. More than three quarters of homes destroyed are located in two districts – Zinjadin (1,353) and Injil districts (586). Additionally, 21,300 buildings are estimated to have sustained damage.

• Immediate humanitarian priorities include the provision of tents and transitional shelters for winter, strengthening disease surveillance systems and rehabilitating damaged health facilities. Partners are responding with immediate response packages, including tents, tarpaulins, blankets, food and nutrition assistance, water trucking and WASH supplies, emergency healthcare and protection.

• In addition to new funding referred to in Flash Update #4, the United States, through USAID, is providing US $12 million in immediate humanitarian assistance; UN CERF will provide $5 million; while the Republic of Korea has announced a $1 million contribution to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund.

Humanitarian Needs and Response

The earthquakes have struck vulnerable communities with little resilience to cope with multiple simultaneous shocks. Many of the communities nearest the epicentres of the earthquake are already dealing with the consequences of decades of conflict and under-development.

Damage to health centres is of particular concern. Partners report that 21 health facilities in nine districts within Herat Province are damaged, including in Injil (4), Guzara (3), Herat city (3), Gulran (3), Zindajan (2), Ghoryaan (2), Kushk / Rabat-e-Sangai (2), Karokh (1), and Pashtoon Zarghoon (1). This damage has resulted in service disruptions for approximately 580,000 people.

Further, 21 schools are reported to have been damaged with severe structural issues observed in 110 classrooms. In Chahak village, Injil district, all 400 residences, as well as the local schools, were completely destroyed. Similarly, Mamizak and Shakiban villages have suffered substantial damage.

In addition to response details outlined in Flash Updates 1, 2, 3 and 4 cluster partners have so far assisted earthquake-affected communities with the following.

Education: NRC is actively engaged in sourcing tents to serve as provisional learning environments.
Partnerships with national and international NGOs are in place to collectively address the mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) needs of children and teachers. UNICEF is also formulating a concept note to deliver Education in Emergencies services in four districts within Herat.

Assessments are ongoing to better understand the damage sustained to learning facilities. The announcement by the Provincial Education Department regarding the reopening of schools on 17 October has provided cluster partners with additional time to concentrate on completing assessments and formulating plans to ensure the continuity of learning.

Emergency Shelter/Non-Food Items (ES/NFI): The Cluster has 23 partners working in Herat province, all involved and supporting community level assessments. ES/NFI Cluster partners IOM, UNHCR, and UNICEF have delivered emergency relief assistance, including emergency shelter kits, plastic tarpaulins, NFIs, and other supplementary aid, to 554 families across fifteen villages in affected districts. This includes the distribution of 554 family tents, 554 standard NFI kits i.e., including blanket modules, family modules, emergency shelter kits, family kits, winter clothing kits, and solar modules.

In coordination with the Shelter Cluster, UNHCR contributed 100 refugee housing units and 100 blankets to the Health Cluster, in support of the health response. The units are to be set up at the health centres to accommodate patients. UNHCR and its partners are expected to start the assembly of the units tomorrow, at Noor Hospital.
As of 12 October, IOM has addressed the needs of 214 earthquake affected families in Injil district through distribution of family-sized tents and NFI kits across Aliabad (20 families), Faizabad (27 families), Gandab (64 families), Hajiabad (10 families), Haji Omar (16 families), Hussain Abad (15 families), Nazir Abad (13 families), Salih Abad (16 families), Wazir Abad (18 families) and Yusef Abad (15 families).

Food Security & Agriculture: WFP is adopting a blanket distribution approach to promptly provide assistance to affected communities, selecting locations based on community data and vulnerability analysis concerning exposure and impact as guiding points.

WFP has distributed over 95 metric tons of mixed food commodities to 2,600 people (371 households) across Naib, Shakiban and Sia Ab villages in Zindajan district, as well as to households in Chahak village in Injil district. Additionally, 1,380 households in Chahak village of Injil district and Botan village of Gulran district received fortified biscuits and lipid-based nutrient supplements totalling 5 metric tons. In preparation for potential storage needs, WFP sent seven Mobile Storage Units from Kabul to Herat.

IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation is providing 1,000 hot meals in Zindajan district. SAFE, a Food Security and Agriculture partner, provided food baskets to 1,600 people (232 households) in Zindajan and Injil districts.
In addition, another partner, CARE reached 670 people with food Baskets in Ghar Moshak and Sanjab villages in Zindajan district.

To strengthen monitoring of the food security response and support identification and verification efforts in affected areas, third-party monitoring (TPM) capacity is being deployed through an additional team of 15 staff to Herat Province, bringing the total number of dedicated staff to 31 (21 male and 10 female). These teams will actively participate in ongoing inter-agency needs assessments to identify the most vulnerable households and facilitate more targeted support, monitor the distribution of assistance and verify the affected villages before dispatching response teams with assistance.

Health: Life-saving essential services like primary healthcare, reproductive health, mental health, and psychosocial support are among the major health concerns. Additionally, there is a demand for trauma care, medicines, supplies, and equipment. The primary on-site challenge is the requirement to furnish emergency medical kits, supplies, and equipment while enhancing the capabilities of healthcare personnel.

By 12 October, Health Cluster partners had reached 20,057 earthquake-affected people in Zindajan (16,539),
Injil (1,435), Herat city (1,617), Kohsan (205), Kushk (184) and Gulran (77) districts. More than 17,249 people have received primary health care and MHPSS services. Additionally, 1,947 people received trauma care and rehabilitation services, while 796 people received different kits (mama and baby kits, dignity kits, and individual clean delivery kits), and 65 people received communicable diseases outbreak response. On 12 October, 20 health facilities were deployed to 17 affected villages in Gulran, Kohsan and Zindajan districts to provide primary health care and MHPSS.
In Zindajan district, 18 health facilities were deployed to Koshkak, Mahal Wardakha (Kernil), Sia Ab, Kajlal, Chahak Mirandaziha, Cheshmah, Sar Baland, Cheshma Ghori, Sanjab, Lakasang, Siha, Asyabadk, Nayeb Rafi, Ghar Mooshak, and Qasr-e-Shirin villages. In Kohsan district, one health facility was deployed to Ahmadabad village; in Gulran district, one health facility was deployed to Botan village. Simultaneously, 35 mobile health and nutrition teams (MHNTs) are on standby to deploy as needed.

IOM has also provided four ambulances to the regional hospital in Herat City to transport injured people to the provincial health facilities.

Nutrition: By 12 October, the cluster has prepositioned nutrition supplies, including 6,000 cartons of ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF) with OHPM, and approximately 3,600 cartons of RUTF in UNICEF’s warehouse in the western region. IRC has stationed MHNTs within Baba-ji school in Herat city, where internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought refuge. The team is offering primary healthcare services, conducting nutrition screenings, providing treatment referrals, and counselling on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF). IRC has reached 15 pregnant and lactating women, conducted 17 screenings for children under five, and provided eight sessions of IYCF counselling.

Therapeutic supplementary feeding services are ongoing in three health facilities, namely Karnil basic health care facility, Jabriel community health care centre, and Alaf sub-health care centre via tents. For Sang Kotal SHC, the services have been suspended, affecting 342 beneficiaries (231 children and 111 pregnant and breastfeeding women), as the health worker was transferred to Herat City.

Protection: As of 11 October, UNFPA’s partners CARE and AADA distributed 300 dignity kits, 1,316 blankets and 1,096 tarpaulins to affected people in different villages of Zindajan district, while HealthNet TPO distributed 92 dignity kits, 92 blankets and 380 tarpaulins at the GTC in Herat City.

As of 11 October, UNFPA partners provided PSS services to 457 individuals in Zindajan, Kohsan, Kushk / Rabat-e- Sangai districts and 560 individuals in Herat City (GTC and the Regional hospital). Following the transfer of individuals affected by the second earthquake on 11 October from the regional hospital to the GTC,
HealthNet TPO PSS counsellors provided PSS to 45 individuals.

On 11 October, in partnership with War Child-UK, IAM and YHDO, UNICEF organized child friendly spaces in Sia Ab village, Zindajan district, benefiting 133 children. During this initiative, they identified 58 children with protection cases, 36 with mental health distress, seven orphans, and 11 with other health concerns.

Additionally, two separated children were reunited with their stepbrother in the same district, and all mental and physical health cases were referred to IOM Health Net.

On 11 October, WASSA deployed two teams of PSS staff to Zindajan district and the GTC. The team in Zindajan district consulted beneficiaries and assisted 18 people. On 12 October, a new PSS team was assigned to address needs in both Zindajan and at the GTC.

Mine Action partners DAFA and DRC have also provided first aid medical assistance to 147 individuals in the affected regions and evacuated one severely injured person to Herat Regional Hospital and facilitated the transfer of four deceased individuals to the cemetery. Additionally, they distributed food items to 1,050 individuals in Kushkak, Nayeb Rafi and Sia Ab communities in Zindajan district. HALO Trust also contributed by deploying a mechanical demining unit to aid in search and rescue operations.

As of 12 October, Psychological First Aid (PFA) was provided to 220 individuals, primarily women and children, through individual and group counselling by seven PSS staff. Furthermore, 117 individuals attended sessions on child protection risks, focusing on topics such as emotional abuse and exploitation. Psychosocial counselling was extended to 67 individuals, with approximately 75 per centbeing women and children. A new camp was established at the Carnaic Basic Health Centre to offer PFA, psychosocial counselling, psychiatry services, and medicine to patients.
UNHCR has distributed solar lamps and hygiene kits, among other critical supplies, and is working to ensure that people with disabilities, older people and households headed by women receive support tailored to them.

WASH: By 12 October, the primary humanitarian needs of the sector had been identified related to damaged water facilities and the potential for water contamination resulting from broken sewerage/septic tanks and drainage systems. However, significant gaps in sanitation services remain and require further attention and support.

IOM distributed 38,500 litres of water through trucking to 567 households (3900 people) and 403 hygiene kits to 2,700 people (403 households) in Asiabadak, Bultan, Ghar Moshak. Kajkal, Qala Naw and Sanjab villages in Zindajan district. IOM also facilitated educational sessions on hygiene to 4,200 people (617 households) in the same areas.

UNICEF has provided 201,000 litres of water through trucking to 19,400 people (2,824 households) in Asiabadak, Aghzalak, Chahak Mirandaziha, Kajkal, Kernil, Koshkak, Mahal Wardakah Nayeb Rafi, Qala Naw, Sar Baland, Sanjab, Shirabad, and Sia Ab villages in Zindajan district. In addition, 913 hygiene kits were distributed to 6,200 people in Asiabadak, Kajkal, Kernil, Koshkak, Qala Naw and Sanjab villages in Zindajan district. DACAAR also provided nearly 3,450 individuals with water through trucking in Koshkak, Mahal Wardakah, Nayeb Rafi, Qala Naw and Sia Ab villages. In Mahal Wardakah, Zindajan district, 50 emergency latrines/bath shelters were installed and 30 households also received hygiene education. In Sia Ab village, Zindajan district. Mercy Corps supplied 216 water kits and 216 hygiene kits to 1,500 people.