Three years after the deadly Herat earthquake, survivors in the Zendeh Jan district of the province still face numerous challenges in rebuilding their lives. Reports from aid agencies show that despite ongoing home reconstruction, problems such as unemployment, water shortages, inadequate health services, and psychological trauma persist.
The devastating earthquake in Herat occurred on October 7, 2023 (15 Mizan 1402). The coincidence of this disaster with the Hamas attack on Israel caused global media attention and aid to focus more on the conflict in the Middle East, overshadowing the Herat tragedy.
According to World Health Organization statistics, the total death toll from the successive earthquakes in Herat from October 7 to 15, 2023, reached 1,482 people. Furthermore, a joint assessment by international organizations estimated the number of affected people at over 275,000 and the number of completely destroyed homes at over 13,500.
This assessment, conducted by the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations, and the Asian Development Bank, estimated the required cost for recovery and reconstruction at about $403 million. The report identifies housing as the greatest need for the earthquake survivors.
Three years on, many families are still living in temporary or semi-finished houses, and with declining international aid, their future is uncertain. Civil society activists say that in addition to physical needs, psychosocial support for survivors, especially women and children, is of high importance but has received little attention.
The problem of safe drinking water scarcity, which existed even before the earthquake, has been exacerbated by the destruction of infrastructure, posing serious health risks to the population. Local residents are calling on the Taliban government and the international community to fulfill their commitments to fully reconstruct the earthquake-affected areas.
Source: Aid agency reports
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