On October 7, 2023, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck 40km west of Herat province, Afghanistan at a depth of 9 km. Aftershocks continued including 5.1 magnitude earthquake on October 10th and another 6.3 magnitude earthquake on October 11th in Zindajan district in Herat province.
Among the different affected districts, Zindajan district was hit the hardest, with 100 percent of homes estimated to have been completely destroyed, 1,663 injured and several hundred are missing across the district’s 11 villages. Around 80% of the affected families totaling 1,395 out of 1,655 are situated in Zindajan district, where 1,353 homes are reported to have been destroyed or severely damaged.
According to OCHA, to date, 1,384 people (759 females and 625 males) are reported to have died and 1,853 people were injured (1,137 females and 716 males) by the earthquakes. Assessments completed to date indicate that 3,067 homes have been affected.
The destruction of homes and shelters caused by the earthquake compounds the already harsh living conditions faced by residents of Herat province, due to the political and economic crisis brought on by the complete withdrawal of NATO troops in August 2021. The destabilization resulting from the withdrawal led to mass conflict-induced displacement and put additional burden on the meagre existing infrastructure, markets and other facilities.
ACT Alliance members community World Services Asia (CWSA) and Christian Aid (CA) developed this appeal for a period of 12 months to address the urgent needs of around 58000 affected people by providing shelters assistance, Multi-purpose cash assistance, Food & NFIs distribution, WASH services, Psycho-social support to the traumatized people. An appeal budget of 3 million USD has been developed to address the short and medium term needs of the people.
ACT Appeal – AFG231 Afghanistan Earthquake
Results Framework AFG 231 Appeal