The population in the northwestern provinces of Afghanistan was thrown into chaos this weekend by a series of strong earthquakes on Saturday morning, the epicenter of which was about thirty kilometers from the city of Herat. The heaviest earthquakes had a magnitude of up to 6.3 and caused havoc in the country’s second city and dozens of surrounding villages. On Sunday morning, Afghan disaster responders, controlled by the Taliban, said that at least two thousand people had been killed.
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Authorities in Herat further stated that more than nine thousand people are still injured. More than a thousand houses in the villages are said to have been completely destroyed. A Taliban spokesman told international media that many women and children were among the victims. During the night from Saturday to Sunday, rescue workers searched the rubble for survivors – in the places they could reach, and with the limited resources available in the country. Social media shows people digging through debris with their bare hands. The search for victims continued on Sunday. In the meantime shocked citizens did not dare to return to their homes for fear of collapse, according to a Turkish aid organization.
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Vulnerable to natural disasters
It has already been established that this is the deadliest earthquake in Afghanistan in decades. Earthquakes occur regularly in the Central Asian country, because it is located exactly in an area where several tectonic plates meet. For example, in June last year, more than a thousand people died in an earthquake on the other side of the country, in the southeast.
In recent months, it has not been limited to tectonic natural disasters: Afghanistan has had to deal with landslides, drought and floods. Added to this is growing political and social unrest – such as a steady increase in terrorist attacks. The UN Humanitarian Affairs Organization (OCHA) states in an annual review that the long history of violence and conflict has led to that Afghan citizens are “increasingly vulnerable to the sudden shocks of natural disasters.” And there is no government that can act adequately in emergency situations.
Difficulty offering help to those in power
Even before the Taliban took over more than two years ago, Afghans were largely dependent on international support for matters such as education and health care. However, the current regime is not internationally recognized. After the takeover, international assets were frozen, and the current directors are still faced with acute financial problems. Moreover, international organizations withdrew, either voluntarily or urged by foreign powers. The large NGOs that are still active in the country cannot do everything they would like due to the repressive regime. For example, rules on women’s participation in the labor market or in public life made it difficult for aid organizations to retain their staff. The World Food Program (WFP) sounded the alarm in September: Due to limited funds and staffing issues, it has had to scale back food aid for millions of people.
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The parties that took action on Saturday to help victims of the earthquakes can only do so piecemeal, as the various reports showed. Through their ‘political office’ in Qatar, the Taliban announced that there is a need for food, drinking water, medicine and tents and clothing for Afghans who have fled their homes.
In the city of Herat, the provincial hospital is the main provider of care for the victims, the World Health Organization said. Further into the province, in the small villages and more remote areas dozens of small, mobile care units have been set up, according to the WHO. The identification of fatalities is still difficult at all locations, according to that organization. Units of the national army and the Red Crescent, among others, are helping to find living victims, according to the Reuters news agency.
The question now becomes what international assistance the Afghan authorities want to call in and how it can be provided to the country, beyond the organizations that have remained active. Condolences came from neighboring Pakistan. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it would provide “all possible support for the reconstruction work.” An offer also came from the Afghan cricket professional Rashid Khan, who is now playing in the World Cup as a player for the national team: he stated on social media that he will donate his match money to the victims in Herat.