Incident
On 25 December 2015, at 23:44 local time a 6.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. The earthquake epicenter is in Zebak district, Badakhshan province. The epicenter location is 36.515N 71.135E. The earthquake depth is 203 km. Earthquake distances: 40 WSW of Eshkashem (Zebak) district, Badakhshan province; 47 km SE of Jorm district, Badakhshan province; 83 km SE of Fayzabad city, Badakhshan province; 283 km NE of Kabul city, Afghanistan.
Affected provinces and districts
Two regions are affected: North-Eastern Region and Eastern Region.
Expected impact: small to medium scale.
OCHA is in contact with Afghan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) offices and non-governmental organizations in provinces, regions and the capital. ANDMA, IOM, FOCUS and OCHA so far have submitted the following damage / impact reports:
Badakhshan province: The earthquake epicenter is in Zebak district. According to the INGO FOCUS no casualties or damages are reported in the district center and nearby villages. FOCUS is contacting remote villages for updates. ANDMA Badakhshan reports no impact in Fayzabad city and is following up with district authorities.
Takhar province: Three houses have been damaged in Taloqan city. The humanitarian team has mobilized and conducting an assessment. So far, no information has been received about casualties or damages in districts. ANDMA is contacting district authorities for updates.
Nangahar province: According to IOM, in Jalalabad city two houses have been damaged and 12 people have been injured. The injured persons have received medical treatment. The humanitarian team has mobilized. ANDMA is contacting district authorities for updates but so far no casualties or damage are reported.
Kunar province: Five houses have been damaged.
Laghman province: Six houses have been damaged.
Impact summary: Five provinces are affected. 12 people have been injured and 16 houses have been damaged.
Afghan government response: On 26 December, the Afghan National Disaster Management Commission (NDMC) called for an emergency meeting in Kabul. The meeting is chaired by HE CEO Dr. Abdullah. OCHA participates in the meeting.
Previous earthquakes
On 26 October 2015, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in Afghanistan, killing 115 people and injuring 524 people. The earthquake affected 16 provinces and damaged or destroyed 18,600 houses, leaving 130,100 people in need of humanitarian assistance. The impact was worst in Badakhshan province where 8,378 families have been affected. On 23 November 2015, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake occurred in Zebak and Shignan districts of Badakhshan province where a few houses were damaged.
Initial response
Government and humanitarian teams have mobilized. Search and rescue is ongoing. Rapid needs assessments are ongoing. Injured persons receive medical treatment. Winter prepositioned food and NFIs are available in snowbound districts of Badakhshan province. Road access is a challenge in snow-bound districts. This applies to Zebak and other districts of Badakhshan province. Humanitarian partners are on stand-by to provide emergency health, food, NFI, shelter and winter assistance. There are no response gaps so far.
Pre-positioned stocks
Badakhshan province: WHO (medicine), WFP (food), UNICEF/ARCS and FOCUS (NFIs).
Takhar province: WHO (medicine), NFI stocks with ARCS/UNICEF and NGOs.
Regional and central stocks: ACRCS, UN agencies and NGOs in Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad and Kabul.
Contact: Eveline Viehboeck, Head of Sub-Office, OCHA Mazaar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, viehboeck@un.org, +93(0)795878705