EN Afghanistan Earthquake 2023
Afghanistan hit by multiple earthquakes in a week.
On 7 October 2023 at around 11.00 local time, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck 40km west of Herat City in Herat Province, western Afghanistan. This earthquake was followed by four large aftershocks throughout the week near the quake's epicentre in Herat, the third-largest city in the country, located in the south of the Paropamisus Mountains.
The earthquakes have resulted in deaths, injuries and building damage across five districts of Herat Province across Zindajan, Injil, Kushk / Rabat-e-Sangai, Ghulan, Herat and Khosan districts. Partners and local authorities anticipate the number of casualties to increase as search and rescue efforts continue amid reports that some people may be trapped under collapsed buildings.
Immediate humanitarian needs include food, drinking water, medicine, clothes, tents and transitional shelter, healthcare, and protection. The earthquakes have struck vulnerable communities with little resilience to cope with multiple simultaneous shocks and communities near the epicentre are already dealing with the consequences of decades of conflict and under-development. Particularly worrying is that Afghanistan's healthcare system, heavily dependent on foreign aid, has experienced severe funding reductions in the two years following the Taliban's assumption of power.
This is a live and ongoing crisis. This page will be updated regularly with more information and resources.
