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Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Earthquake - DREF Operation Update n° 1 (MDRAF003)

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Summary

CHF 465,684 was allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 3 November 2015 to support the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) in delivering assistance to 2,000 families and replenishment of non-food items in the earthquake affected north east and eastern regions of Afghanistan.

This DREF operation aims to meet the immediate needs of 2,000 families (14,000 people) most affected by the earthquake through provision of non-food relief supplies, winter clothing, emergency shelter and psycho-social support. It also covers support for mobilizing DRU, staff and volunteers for assessments, distributions and monitoring. Thus far, ARCS with support from Movement partners have distributed non- food items to reach 1,824 families.

This operation focuses on the geographical areas of Badakhshan, Baghlan, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Nuristan and Takhar. It is expected to be implemented over four months, and will be completed by 2 March 2016. In line with IFRC reporting standards, the final report will be published 90 days after completion of the operation.

Situation

Around 13:40 local time (UTC +4:30) on 26 October 2015, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Badakhshan Province in the north-east region of Afghanistan. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake’s epicentre was 82 km southeast of Feyzabad in the Hindu Kush mountain range and at 213 km in depth.
Badakhshan, Nangarhar, Baghlan and Kunar provinces are ranked the most affected provinces.

Assessment reports indicate 117 deaths, 544 people injured, 12,794 homes damaged and 7,384 houses destroyed. Furthermore, 136,967 people are still in need of humanitarian assistance, of which 131,345 people have received some form of assistance so far date. More than 51,000 people were affected in Badakhshan alone, where property damage was most extensive. The earthquake claimed the most lives and caused the most casualties in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces. Access remains the most significant challenge in providing assistance to people in need and is an issue reaching at least 194 villages affected by the earthquake.

Coordination and partnerships

ARCS Secretary General has chaired four emergency coordination meetings at National Headquarters attended by partners that included; IFRC, ICRC, Iranian Red Crescent and Qatar Red Crescent. During the coordination meetings, information on existing response gaps, plans ahead and challenges were shared to come up with practical solution to respond to needs on the ground.

ARCS and IFRC signed a DREF project agreement which stipulates commitments of both parties with regard to time frame, funding, reporting and procurement among others.

A team from Qatar RC DM officials visited Afghanistan to assess the possibility of supporting ARCS in the earthquake recovery programming with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, nutrition and shelter after the emergency phase is over.

IFRC held coordination meeting on the earthquake response with United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) officials in Kabul on 4 November. A brief of the approved DREF was shared with OCHA in Kabul during this meeting. As a result, the DREF contribution to the earthquake was highlighted in one of the UN OCHA earthquake response updates. Discussions with UN OCHA emphasized on promotion of beneficiary communication before relief assistance is given, strengthening leadership in shelter sector with IFRC technical support and exploring use of cash transfer programming using available expertise including OCHA partners. Particularly, emphasis was on engaging in community dialogues to integrate beneficiary viewpoints during response and recovery operations.

Partners who have contributed to the replenishment of this DREF include Canadian Red Cross Society/ Canadian Government (DFATD), DG ECHO, and Netherland Red Cross/ Netherlands Government (SEF).