Afghanistan Hit by Second Major Earthquake in Days; Humanitarian Needs Soar

A second, large earthquake struck Herat, Afghanistan this morning measuring 6.3-magnitude, just days after more than 2,400 people lost their lives in the same region.

Dayne Curry, Mercy Corps Country Director for Afghanistan says: 

“Speaking to my team today it is clear this second earthquake has caused more injury and damage. Humanitarian needs were already critically high in Herat, and now are only escalating in tandem with the mounting damage to homes and critical infrastructure.” 

“The ongoing humanitarian response is not proportionate to the need, and a lack of international attention has meant survivors are left more vulnerable to shocks such as these, facing chronic shortages of clean water and inadequate shelter. A lack of emergency preparedness means most people in Herat province had the perception that they were not in an earthquake-prone area, so their homes were built without following a building code or standard, unable to withstand even moderate earthquakes."

“Mercy Corps is working to address the urgent water and sanitation needs of earthquake-affected communities and have commenced distributing hygiene kits and clean drinking water supply to families in Sia Ab village. We will also be providing cash support to help communities rebuild and recover in the coming weeks.” 

For more information please contact:

• Alexandra Bingham, Senior Media and Communications Officer (based in London) at abingham@mercycorps.org
• Kyle DeGraw, Head of Media - Europe (based in London) at kdegraw@mercycorps.org  
• Our full media team is reachable at allmediarelations@mercycorps.org