Earthquake Afghanistan
On the night of Aug. 31 (11:47 p.m. local time), a massive earthquake (Strength of 6 on the Richter scale) struck eastern Afghanistan. The earthquake caused significant damage to homes and buildings, and initial reports report hundreds dead and more than a thousand injured. There are reports that several villages have been completely destroyed. Authorities currently speak of nearly 1,000 dead and 2,500 injured.
The earthquake happened in a mountainous, remote area making information slow in coming in and fearing more casualties. The earthquake occurred at a depth of only 8 kilometers, leading experts to fear additional damage. In addition, the quake occurred at night and many families were presumably at home which increases the likelihood of a high number of injuries and fatalities.
The Afghan Red Crescent is active on the ground and is currently conducting needs assessments in the field and from the air. Initial needs assessments are:
- Search and rescue
- Providing first aid and emergency care
- Food and potable water
- Reception and shelter
- Restoration of access roads
Belgian Red Cross-Flanders is immediately releasing 100,000 euros from its emergency relief fund to support humanitarian aid.
The support from Flanders is being deployed in cooperation with the Turkish Red Crescent in the affected region; among other things, they provide for the distribution of hot meals.
How can you help?
Financial support is most effective at this stage. Donations are welcome at BE53 0000 0000 5353, marked "earthquake Afghanistan. Every contribution, large or small, helps save lives and alleviate the most urgent needs.
Updates
Tuesday, September 2 - Belgian Red Cross-Flanders releases 100,000 euros from emergency relief fund for disaster in Afghanistan
Several villages were completely destroyed, hundreds of houses were damaged and thousands of people were injured. The official death toll from the earthquake in Afghanistan currently stands at nearly 1,000 people. At the same time, it is complex to get relief efforts underway en masse because the disaster area is difficult to access with narrow and blocked roads. To support urgent relief efforts, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders is releasing 100,000 euros.
The International Red Cross and local Red Crescent are currently going to great lengths to get people out from under the rubble. In this, the first 72 hours after an earthquake are crucial. "The earthquake hit an already severely weakened area. Many people already needed humanitarian aid before the earthquake, many houses were not in the best condition, they absolutely cannot cope with such an earthquake now" explains Vincent Verbeecke of Belgian Red Cross-Flanders .
In addition to the Search & Rescue teams that are now being urgently deployed, a massive logistical operation is starting at the same time. "We are talking about hundreds of dead, thousands of injured and thousands more whose homes and water supplies have been rendered unusable. The needs are running extremely high in a short period of time," Verbeecke said.
Logistics emergency relief
Now that the International Red Cross has been able to partially identify the needs, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders decided to release 100,000 euros.
Initial requests for help are broad:
- Tents, mattresses and blankets to safely house families without homes.
- Drinkable water and cooking kits for survival. The risk of disease greatly increases when people have to drink contaminated water. On average, there is a need for 20 liters of drinking water per person per day.
- Baby milk powder, dignity kits for menstruating women and hygiene kits for the general population.
- Emergency health care, such as medication, wound care and blood supply support.
Support from Flanders is being deployed in cooperation with the Turkish Red Crescent in the affected region.
Those who would like to support Belgian Red Cross-Flanders and also contribute can do so at: BE53 0000 0000 5353 with the mention "earthquake Afghanistan".
Monday, September 1 - Earthquake Afghanistan, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders: 'first 72 hours are crucial now'
The first 72 hours after a major earthquake are the critical period for retrieving survivors from under the rubble. After three days, that chance of finding survivors drops significantly.
Several factors complicate operations in the area: "It's a mountainous area with difficult access and that creates huge logistical challenges. You need specialized equipment to clear debris, but access to the area is not easy: the roads are narrow, many are blocked by landslides, affected villages are remote. On top of that, the region already had great humanitarian needs before the earthquake."
Acute emergency response - search and rescue
The priority in the affected area in Afghanistan right now is to get people alive from under the rubble. "In the beginning this often involves a lot of improvisation, severe earthquakes create chaos, people are looking for their relatives, roads are blocked, there is a lot of confusion. It is then essential to get teams on the ground as quickly as possible to systematically search for survivors" says Vincent Verbeecke, spokesman Belgian Red Cross-Flanders.
Depending on the situation, initial assistance often consists of people from the local population or government digging for victims. "In these types of situations and areas, it is often also manual work: using hands and shovels to dig debris to free survivors." Then professional teams arrive consisting of 10-20 people. They will conduct ongoing rescue operations with specialized equipment. Essentially, this is strictly coordinated so that rescue operations are efficient.
The Afghan Red Crescent is active in the area with Search & Rescue teams and emergency humanitarian supplies such as medicine, tending to the wounded.
Logistics emergency relief
Getting people alive from under the rubble is the priority, but in the meantime, a gigantic logistics chain must also get underway. "People's homes are destroyed, water supplies are broken, cooking facilities are becoming scarce."
The first needs that arise are broad. These range from tents, mattresses and blankets so that people who have lost their homes can sleep safely and under cover. Cooking kits and potable water so that affected people can survive, a risk when water supplies are hit is that people start consuming non-potable water out of necessity, then the risk of disease increases dramatically. People can go several days without food if necessary, not without water. The Red Cross calculates that on average there is a need for 20 liters of potable water per person.
In addition, getting powdered baby milk to affected areas is a priority. Dignitiy kits for menstruating women and hygiene kits for the general population are also on the priority list.
Psychological impact
After the first 72 hours, the chances of finding survivors drop dramatically. Exceptions, people recovered alive from under the rubble after five or even 10 days exist, but are rare. "This is also the time when aid workers get very tough, you have the physical exhaustion of rescue work, but also psychological trauma: you see people buried under the rubble, you sometimes hear people under the rubble but you can't save them. Those are intense circumstances."