UNHCR, Shelter Cluster Afghanistan: Regional Monthly Update 01 - 30 November 2022, 21 December 2022
“Since the beginning of year, ESNFI clusters partners have reached 1,806,236 (93%) individuals with multiple Emergency shelters (ES) and NFI assistance (Transitional shelter, Shelter repair or upgrade, winterization, standard ES and NFI assistance). In November 2022, ESNFI cluster partners identified 34,000 families in need of Winter, NFI assistance and shelter toolkits through joint assessment. ES/NFi Cluster and its partners have completed the second round of Rapid Assessment Mechanism in 8 regions of Afghanistan. ES/NFI cluster afghanistan received nearly USD 900, 000 from Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) 3rd reserve allocation top up to support Cash for rent for nearly 4000 disaster affected families.”
UNHCR, UN inaugurates houses in earthquake-ravaged southeast Afghanistan, 19 December 2022
“The June 2022 earthquake killed some 1,000 Afghans, including more than 300 children, and destroyed or damaged
70 per cent of the homes in the worst hit districts of Barmal, Giyan and Spera. “We came here for the people of
Barmal to give you a hand at a difficult time, said UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, speaking at the handover event on Thursday, 15 December. “There was little justice for the people here, no health care, no schools, no employment, but now our colleagues in UNHCR are creating livelihoods for the community.” UNHCR, with its partner, the Agency for Humanitarian and Development Assistance for Afghanistan (AHDAA), has finalised some 700 homes built using local labor, providing vital income support to the communities in Afghanistan’s impoverished southeast region. UNHCR’s newly built houses, designed following consultations with residents, are equipped with solar panels and batteries for lighting, as well as bukhari stoves for heating and cooking. The structures, which have two rooms and a kitchen, also include a latrine. The agency’s earthquake resilient houses are constructed on a metre-wide cement foundation, with stone walls 60 cm thick, with two reinforced concrete ring beams. Reinforced concrete columns support a steel-braced roof. “When we first came here in June there was a lot of devastation. We are encouraged to see the community has remained resilient amid the devastation and there has been so much progress,” said UNHCR Representative Leonard Zulu. “The whole world felt the pain of this village, the world gave you immediate life-saving support.” UNHCR’s emergency response in Afghanistan is supported by a multi-donor group of countries, including the USA, the European Union states, as well as the UK, Switzerland, and Norway, alongside Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, and China. Significant support from the Saudi Fund for Development, Kuwait, Bahrain’s Royal Humanitarian Foundation and the UN’s pooled funds including the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) and the Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA) have been provided. Ambassador Alimkhan Yessengeldiyev of Kazakhstan joined the UN delegation in Barmal to witness the handover of 2,000 household kits, including mattresses and clothing, which Kazakhstan donated to UNHCR for families in the earthquake zone. UNHCR’s Leonard Zulu announced that the affected districts of Barmal, Spera and Giyan have been included in the agency’s Priority Areas of Return and Reintegration (PARR) initiative. Alongside road infrastructures UNHCR is currently undertaking to connect villages, it is digging wells and building flood retaining walls. UNHCR plans the construction of health centres and schools for girls and boys commencing in 2023. In Mavis village, where UNHCR is constructing 60 shelters, village head Mavis Khan said, “We are impressed by progress made by UNHCR so far and that’s why we requested you, UNHCR, to build schools for our children, particularly for our girls, as we will allow them to go to school to be educated.” The PARR scheme is an important part of the international effort to provide solutions for Afghans under the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) which sees UNHCR closely engage with partners including UNDP, UN-Habitat, FAO, UN-Women, ILO, UNICEF, UNWFP, UNODC, AKDN and key donors to support communities while also facilitating the sustainable reintegration of those internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugee returnees who are voluntarily arriving back. An estimated 3.3 million people have benefited from UNHCR’s assistance in the 80 Priority Areas of Return and Reintegration where this year the UN Refugee Agency has implemented 30 water projects, nine health centres, seven community centres, and 21 schools for boys and girls.”
UN Women, Gender Alert: Gender-related impacts of evictions of internally-displaced persons and destructions of informal settlements – focus on Badghis, 20 December 2022
“2022 was marked by increased pressure from the De facto Authorities (DfA) to accelerate the pace of return of families who fled conflict and natural disasters over the past years to their place of origin. In the first two weeks of December 2022, the DfA took steps to dismantle 8 informal settlements and infrastructures in Badghis, home to approximately 2,800 displaced families. Just under 20,000 individuals saw their shelter destroyed and were forcibly asked to go back to their areas of origin on 15 December. Previous decades of fighting, and more recently drought, had forced thousands of families to flee their homes in the rural areas of Badghis and seek out safety and humanitarian support in the capital, Qala-e-Naw. The populations of these informal settlements are highly vulnerable and dependent on humanitarian assistance. Moreover, women and Women Headed Households (WHH) make up a majority of the persons living in such settlements, as women are more likely to be displaced in Afghanistan, and to take their families with them when they flee conflicts or natural disasters. In Badghis, 187 WHH were identified among the evicted population, while the exact number of women and girls impacted by the evictions is not yet available.”
UNHCR, Afghanistan: Protection Analysis Update: Update on post conflict and climate-related protection risks trends, December 2022, 14 December 2022
“Widespread protection risks persist in Afghanistan as a consequence of the continuing humanitarian and economic crisis, as well as due to shrinking protection spaces particularly for women, girls, and other vulnerable groups. The human rights situation has been exacerbated by conflict, forced eviction, bureaucratic access impediments, as well as natural disasters like earthquakes and flooding. This has a devastating effect on population coping capacities and vulnerabilities, which is escalating the impact of existing protection risks. During this quarter, de facto authorities (DfA) continued threatened and actual forced eviction of people living in informal settlements both on public and private land. Moreover, following the armed clashes between Mawlawi Mehdi Mujahid, Hazara Commander and DFA forces, more than 3,000 families were displaced from Balkhab district and fled to mountainous areas and neighbouring districts and provinces. By mid-July most of the affected families had returned to their villages, and reportedly the majority were forced to return by the authorities. The limitations on movement of women go far beyond the mere issue of ability to move, and present grave implications for women who are struggling to support their families, especially those women who are breadwinners or the heads of their families. The DfA are increasingly asserting their control over the provision of humanitarian assistance and using bureaucratic mechanisms to influence humanitarian service provision. This is leading to protection risks for affected population and a worsening complex operating environment for NGOs. The protection risks requiring immediate attention in the period covered by this analysis are: Discrimination and stigmatization, denial of resources, opportunities, services and/or humanitarian assistance Unlawful Impediments or restrictions to freedom of movement and forced displacement/eviction Psychological and inflicted distress Presence of mines and other explosive ordnance Forced and child marriage”
UNHCR, REACH, Shelter Cluster, Afghanistan Rental Assessment of Key Urban Markets - Factsheet: Kabul Urban Centre (September 2022), 6 December 2022
“Kabul Rental Market Assessment is an addendum to the Rental Assessment of Key Urban Markets (covering seven key urban regions of Afghanistan) conducted in January and February 2022 by REACH. The methodology used in this assessment is the same methodology used in that assessment. This assessment has two components: 1) Household interviews with renter households which are representative of Kabul’s urban renter population regardless of displacement status at a 95% confidence level and 5% of margin of error, totalling 500 interviews. 2) Key Informant interviews which are indicative in results, totalling 113 interviews. All interviews were conducted from 6 September until 13 September 2022. The data was cleaned and analysed through a customized R script for data checked by REACH assessment and data teams.”
NRC, UN-HABITAT, UNHCR, Briefing note on international and domestic frameworks safeguarding against forced eviction in Afghanistan, 1 December 2022
“This guide by the Housing Land and Property Task-Force provides information on international and domestic frameworks on evictions. It is intended as a resource for partners working in areas where vulnerable people are at risk, and intends to raise awareness of international norms and process governing evictions and safeguarding against forced evictions.”
Afghan Red Crescent, Khost (25 November), 25 November 2022
“The second round of cash assistance distribution for the rehabilitation of 941 earthquake-hit houses by ARCS in Spera district of Khost province has been completed. In second round 18,435,000 AFN as cash assistance were distributed for the rehabilitation of the afore-mentioned houses. It's commendable that earlier, ARCS has also distributed 28,672,000 AFN as cash assistance to 614 families in Gayan district and to 530 families in Barmal district of Paktika province.”
Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS), Afghanistan: Risk Overview, 7 November 2022
“Possessing documentation (including birth certificates, driver’s licences, and land ownership documents) is critical to reducing protection risks, ensuring access to income-generating opportunities, and securing assets. Access to civil documentation is indistinguishably linked to housing, land, and property (HLP) rights, contingent on a person’s ability to prove their identity and family lineage. A lack of civil documentation severely limits opportunities and further compounds the challenges that IDPs and returnees face in exercising their HLP rights.”
United Nations Population Fund - UNFPA (Afghanistan), Providing warmth to vulnerable Afghans during the bitter winter, 2 November 2022
“Kabul, Afghanistan – Some 3.4 million Afghans are currently internally displaced with the majority of them living in
temporary shelters. As the winter is fast approaching, struggling to survive will be even more challenging for them. “According to the Afghanistan: ICCT Winter Prioritization report by UNOCHA, 79 per cent of Afghan households live in shelters that need repair and 79 per cent do not have adequate access to heating. The anticipated harsh winter will further compound the already dire humanitarian situation in the country.
“To help families survive the freezing temperatures in the coming months, UNFPA is working with partners to distribute winterization kits, prioritizing the most vulnerable populations such as female-headed households. The UNFPA winterization kit includes five thermal blankets, two reinforced tarpaulin sheets for added insulation against the cold weather, three thermal sleeping mats, and two jerry cans for water storage.”
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Afghanistan: Earthquake Response Situation Report No. 4, 31 October 2022
“The assessment found that of the 14,766 houses affected by the earthquake, 33 percent required reconstruction
as they had been destroyed, 57 per cent are repairable while 10 per cent of undercover living spaces are still habitable. With technical support from Miyamoto International, shelter partners have planned to cover 100 per cent of shelter needs before the upcoming winter – subject to available resources. However, the suspension of the shelter reconstruction by the de-facto authorities delayed the start of shelter reconstruction activities in Giyan district in Paktika province.
[…]
“Needs: • Shelter partners verified 14,766 families in need of tents, NFIs, shelter reconstruction and repair across
Shamal, Tani, and Spera districts in Khost province; Barmal, Giyan, Neka, Urgun, and Ziruk districts in Paktika
province Waza Zadran district in Paktya province. • Of 14,766 houses affected by the earthquake, around 33 percent are completely destroyed and require reconstruction, 57 percent are repairable while the remaining 10 per cent of undercover living spaces are still habitable. • Partners require technical support on shelter reconstruction and repair work, especially on vernacular architecture."
NRC, Private renters facing risk of eviction, 17 October 2022
“The economic crisis in Afghanistan has resulted in loss of livelihood and income, and this has impacted the ability of households to pay rent and the likelihood of landlords to increase rent, which results in increased threats of and actual evictions.”
EUAA, Mobility Trends Report: Afghan Nationals in Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia, 28 September 2022 "Earthquakes and flash floodings in some regions have led to loss of life and significant damage to infrastructure. This has further strained the already limited capacity to provide humanitarian relief in the country."
Shelter Cluster (Afghanistan), Regional Monthly Update (1 – 31 August 2022), 22 September 2022
“Key Highlights and Challenges:
Since the beginning of year, ESNFI clusters partners have reached 1,476,435 (76%) individuals with multiple Emergency shelters (ES) and NFI assistance (Transitional shelter, Shelter repair or upgrade, winterization, standard ES and NFI assistance). […]
As of end August, 14,420 famillies approximatively 100,940 Individuals have been identified as afftected by the earthquake and need reconstructed earthquake resistant or repaired shelters.
With regards to the earthquake response , as of end August , ES NFI cluster Afghanistan partners have comitted to
cover 6,092 (42%) for reconstruction of Earthquake resistant shelters or repairs / retrofitting.”
RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, 'We Are Left With Nothing': Deadly Floods Aggravate Afghanistan's Economic, Humanitarian Crisis’, 31 August 2022
“Mira Jan lost his home, crops, and livestock in the devastating floods that have struck large swaths of Afghanistan. "Our house was swept away by the raging floods," Jan, a farmer in the eastern province of Nangarhar, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. "We were only able to save ourselves and our children. We have nothing to live off now.” Jan is among the tens of thousands of Afghans affected by the deadly floods that have swept the country in recent weeks. Over 250 people have been killed and thousands of homes have been destroyed. The floods have exacerbated the devastating economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan that has been fueled by the Taliban’s seizure of power in August 2021.”
Ariananews, Over 30 million in urgent need of help after major floods in Afghanistan and Pakistan, 31 August 2022 “Flooding in Afghanistan has also brought widespread devastation in central and eastern provinces of the country in the midst of an on-going drought and worsening humanitarian crisis.
Over 180 people have been killed and upwards of 3,300 homes have been destroyed.
Many of the areas impacted by this month’s flooding were hit by a devastating earthquake in June that killed over
1000 people.
IRC Afghanistan has deployed emergency response teams to affected provinces and is providing cash support to families who have lost their livelihoods, and water and hygiene kits to flood-affected households.”
Global Shelter Cluster, AFGHANISTAN: ES-NFI CLUSTER HRP DASHBOARD (AS OF JULY 2022), 20 August 2022
“These information sheets include the following data in different regions in Afghanistan: (1) number of people receiving basic household items to meet their immediate needs; (2) number of people receiving emergency shelter assistance, including cash for rent support; (3) number of people whose shelter was upgraded allowing for safer and dignified living; (4) number of people receiving winterization standard package for insulation; (5) number of people receiving support to construct transitional shelters.”
Tolo News, At least 20 People Killed, 30 Wounded in Logar Flooding, 21 August 2022
“At least 20 people were killed and more than 30 others were injured in floods that hit the Khoshi district of Logar
province.
The casualties included nine children, nine women and two men.
The provincial officials said that thousands of acres of agricultural land and hundreds of residences have been destroyed.
According to the officials, four people have disappeared.
‘Due to these floods, 20 people have been killed and 32 others wounded. Four people have disappeared and around
3,000 residences were destroyed,’ Provincial Governor Mawlawi Enayatullah Shoja said.”
IOM, IOM Afghanistan flash flood situation report | 1-12 August 2022, 16 August 2022
“On the night August 11th, heavy rainfall triggered a series of flash floods in the central and south-eastern regions of Afghanistan. Initial reports indicate that 11 districts in six provinces and two regions across Afghanistan experienced harsher rainfall causing more severe floods than other parts in the country. [...] Initial reports indicate that the impact of the flash flood affected over 7,500 persons, damaging over 1,000 houses of which 65 were completely destroyed. The floods have not spared infrastructure, impacting numerous agricultural lands in turn affecting livelihoods; water and irrigation systems, including canals Karezes, impacting also sanitation structures; as well as roads, most notably the highways to Kandahar, but also the Kabul-Bamyan sub-road, in turn increasing the already precarious access to those areas. Most tragically, the floods have already cost the life of 13 persons, and additional 09 injuries reported at the time of this report.”
TOLO News, 30 people killed, nearly 100 wounded in floods in parwan, 15 August 2022
“At least 30 people have died and more than 20 were injured in flooding in the Shinwari and Sia Gard districts of Parwan province, local officials said.
The head of the provincial department of Information and Culture, Shams Rahman Sadeqqi, said that hundreds of houses have been destroyed. Around 100 people are missing, according to officials.
The flooding happened in Shinwari and Siagard districts of the province.”
Tolo News, Flooding Causes 18 Deaths in 3 Provinces, More Heavy Rain Forecast, 30 July 2022
“At least 18 people have died and around 40 others were injured as a result of recent floods in the provinces of Ghazni, Kandahar, and Herat, according to the State Ministry for Disaster Management. A spokesman for the ministry, Mohammad Nasim Haqqani, stated that in addition to the deaths caused by the two days of flooding in three provinces, dozens of homes were also completely destroyed. “During the last two days of flooding, which happened in different provinces of the country, unfortunately 18 people died--10 in Ghazni, 6 in Kandahar and two people in Herat. These floods also caused financial loss to the people,” he said. According to ministry figures, 10 people died in Ghazni, 6 in Kandahar, and 2 in Herat. Meanwhile, several families who were affected by the flooding said they had lost everything. “The floods hit our house at one ‘clock last night. As you see, it destroyed our house and we don’t have a shelter to live in,” said Mujeebullah, a resident of Ghazni. “They should help us in order to rebuild our houses, we do not want anything else,” Shireen, a member of the affected family told TOLOnews.”
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA), The United Nations builds new houses for the earthquake victims of Khost and Paktika, 28 July 2022
“The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has said that they will build new houses for the 11,000
people affected by last month's earthquake in Khost and Paktika provinces.”
Khaama Press, Apocalyptic Flash Floods in Eastern Afghanistan Destroy Homes and Lives, 26 July 2022
“The floods in the Nurgram, Mandol, Kamdish, Berg-i-Matal, Du Ab, and Wama districts of Nooristan province have reportedly resulted in the deaths of three individuals and the total destruction of 13 homes, according to sources in Nooristan on Tuesday, the 26th of July.
Sources in this province continue to claim that more than 2,000 fruit trees, hundreds of acres of farming fields, 36 dams, and 20 animal barns were all devastated and washed away.
At the same time, sources from the eastern province of Paktia reported on Tuesday, July 26, that the flooding in
this province’s Zurmat district has caused the displacement of scores of people, who are currently staying in tents
in Gardiz, the province’s center.
According to Taliban local officials, the flood caused eight deaths, six injuries, and further casualties and damage in the Gardiz and Zurmat districts.
The flood hits different regions of Afghanistan at a time when meteorologists in Afghanistan Meteorology Department issued two warnings for the possibility of flash floods and heavy rainfall.
The affected and the displaced are said to be in dire need of immediate assistance, and more than 50 families have been made homeless by the disaster, according to sources.”
Tolo News, Death Toll at 18 From Recent Flooding in Afghanistan, 25 July 2022
“In the past month, nearly 90 people have died and 120 others have been injured in at least 20 provinces due to
heavy floods.”
[…] “In addition to the human cost, initial reports indicate thousands of acres of agricultural land and hundreds of residential houses have been damaged.”
Ariana News, Russia delivers 24 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, 20 July 2022
“a 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, injuring 40 people and damaging hundreds of homes in
Paktika and Khost provinces.”
Khaama, Flash Floods in Eastern Afghanistan Cause Deaths and Financial Loss, 19 July 2022
“There have been fatal and disastrous floods in several other provinces of Afghanistan over the past week. Data
reveals that these floods have claimed the lives of almost 70 people… The flooding destroyed more than 300
homes and other structures, along with products valued at millions of Afghanis, leaving the locals with a crippling
financial loss.”
Khaama Press, At Least 30 Injured and Dozens of Houses Destroyed by Latest Earthquake in Quake-Hit Southeastern Afghanistan, 19 July 2022
“[…] at least 30 injuries and the destruction of dozens of homes […]”
AVA, Third earthquake in Afghanistan, 19 July 2022
“[…] reports indicated dozens of homes had been damaged and at least 10 people injured.”
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) (Afghanistan), Afghanistan: Flash Update #1, July 2022 [Flash Flooding in eastern and central regions]
"Heavy and unseasonal rainfall across the central and eastern regions of Afghanistan on 5 and 6 July has resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people, injured a further 11, and caused severe damage to over 280 homes, as well as other critical infrastructure across nine provinces, including four bridges and 8 km of a road. Reportedly, two children were among those who lost their lives."
"The provinces where most casualties and damage were reported are Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces in the eastern region and Ghazni and Parwan in the central region."
"As of 7 July, there have been no reports of displacement across the region due to the flash floods."
" This is the second time that the eastern region has experienced flash floods in less than a month, with 19 people killed and 131 people injured in heavy rains that occurred on 22- 23 June."
"According to district officials and partners in the eastern region, five people died and 11 people were reportedly injured, while 62 families reported damaged houses. Specifically, in Kunar province, heavy rains and landslides have affected critical civilian infrastructure, including three bridges and several irrigation canals. In Nuristan province, the AsadabadParun Highway is currently blocked due to landslides, while the main bridge in the Kordar area in Nuristan province is also damaged. Consequently, UNDSS has advised that no UN road missions can currently be conducted in these locations. Additionally, in Kabul City, the Bamyan highway through Maydan Shar is also reportedly closed due to heavy floods and landslides."
"In Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, the livelihoods of people have also been affected with as many as 100 livestock killed, 52 husbandries (makeshifts for keeping livestock in the mountains), and 90 Jeribs of agriculture land with standing crops destroyed."
"In the central and central highland regions, five people reportedly died in Ghazni province (two children and three adults), with damage recorded to 160 houses in Ab Band, Andar, Deh Yak, Ghazni City, Gelan, Jaghuri, Muqur, Nawur Qara Bagh, Rashidan, and Zanakhan districts, along with 60 houses in Surkh-e-Parsa and Shekh Ali districts in Parwan province. Farmlands with standing crops and orchards, agriculture input, and livestock, as well as assets such as solar systems used for irrigation, were washed away by the heavy storm and flash floods. CARE Afghanistan and ANDMA deployed assessment teams to the affected areas in Parwan province. An inter-agency joint need assessment consisting of IRC, IOM, and ANDMA started in Logar province (Kharwar and Charkh district) on 7 July. In Ghazni, joint assessments will start on 12 July in coordination with ANDMA."
"OCHA is coordinating the emergency response on behalf of humanitarian partners with Operational Coordination Team (OCT) meetings held in Logar, Ghazni, Maydan Wardak, Paktya, and Paktika provinces on 7 July, and teams deployed to Kharwar and Charkh districts of Logar province. In the eastern region, the IOM-led assessment teams were already on the ground and able to immediately deploy to Hesarak and Wama districts in Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces"
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) (Afghanistan), Afghanistan: Flash Update #2, 13 July 2022 [ Flash Flooding in Central, Eastern, Southern, and South-Eastern Regions
"Since 5 July, flash floods have reportedly killed 39 people across five provinces – Uruzgan (20), Ghazni (6), Nuristan (7), Paktya (3) and Zabul (3). Nine of those killed were children, including six in Ghazni and three in Paktya provinces."
"The heavy rains have damaged or destroyed around 2,900 houses, a tenfold increase since the last reporting period, and also disrupted livelihoods. Critical civilian infrastructure such as roads and bridges have also been impacted."
"Families assessed to date report needing emergency shelter, non-food items, food and water, sanitation, and hygiene support."
"Central and South-Eastern Region: Communities in Logar, Paktya, Ghazni, Khost, and Paktika provinces in the Central and South-Eastern Region continue to experience heavy rains and flash flooding, in addition to dealing with the aftermath of the 22 June earthquake. According to local reports as of 11 July, nine children died due to flash floods (six in Ghazni and three in Paktya), 14 people were injured, and close to 2,300 houses were damaged or destroyed across the four south-eastern provinces. The heavy rains have also displaced two unexploded ordnances (UXOs) into several villages of Paktya province. Reportedly, the controlled explosions of the mines helped prevent further casualties."
"… partners have reported new flooding in Urgun district (Paktika province), which is close to the earthquake- affected areas."
"In response, two inter-agency assessment teams deployed to flood-affected areas in Ghazni on 11 July, followed by another four teams on 12 July, in coordination with the Provincial Disaster Management Committee (PDMC). Four joint assessment teams mobilized for Paktya on 12 July and one assessment team deployed to Urgun district in Paktika."
"Eastern Region: Heavy rain caused new flash flooding in four districts and affected close to 500 families - 213 families in Nangarhar, 200 families in Laghman, 26 families in Kunar, and 14 families in Nuristan. This is the third time that the eastern region has experienced flash flooding in less than a month."
"Following the flash flooding on 5 and 6 July, rapid needs assessments were conducted on 8 July in Hesarak district (Nangarhar province) and Wama district (Nuristan province). The assessments found significant shelter, agriculture, and infrastructure destruction, with emergency shelter, NFI, food, and WASH listed as top priority needs by affected communities. More than half of all families assessed in Hesarak district reported destroyed or severely damaged homes, and another 20 per cent reported partial destruction. Additionally, 2000 jeribs (approximately 400 hectares) of agricultural land with standing crops, one big intake, two canals, 200-250 livestock, and five local flour mills were also reportedly destroyed. In Wama district alone, the flash floods damaged ten micro-hydropowers, 50 small- and medium-size intakes, 20 km of canals, 2,000 jerib (400 hectares) of agricultural land, 200 orchards, four mosques, four shops, 12 flour mills, a bridge and 19 km of road (Kordar area) and three schools. Some 250 livestock were also killed. Meanwhile, the Chapadara-Parouns road has remained closed since 7 July due to the landslide that damaged the bridge. Reportedly, existing de-facto authority capacity (means and materials) is insufficient to open the road."
"Southern Region: Three new provinces in the Southern Region - Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul – have been affected by heavy rains since the last flash update was issued on 7 July. Initial reports from partners and the ANDMA office indicate that some 600 households are affected in Uruzgan and Zabul, including damaged agricultural lands and livestock. There are unconfirmed reports of 23 deaths - three people reportedly killed in Zabul from a house that collapsed and 20 people reportedly killed in Uruzgan in a bus that was overturned." "Health teams and WASH partners have already deployed to flood-affected areas in Zabul to respond to instances of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD), which were already being OCHA Afghanistan | 3 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs www.unocha.org monitored prior to the floods. OCHA and humanitarian partners are also working with ANDMA to confirm the information received for Uruzgan and Zabul, and to collect information on Kandahar province. Humanitarian partners also deployed teams for needs assessments."
"Further damage to shelter and critical infrastructure, road closures, and contamination with UXO of populated areas due to floods or landslides can be expected in the week ahead."
Pajhwok Afghan News (Afghan News Agency), Last week's floods leave 63 dead, 81 injured, 13 July 2022 "Recent rain-induced floods have killed more than 60 people in different parts of the country, an official says. Last week’s flooding left 63 people dead and 81 others wounded in a dozen provinces, the minister of state for disaster management told a private broadcaster.
Ariana News quoted Ghulam Ghaws Naseri as saying that 12,250 houses and 12,000 acres of agricultural land were also damaged and 2,000 livestock killed."
Khaama Press (Afghan News Agency), Nature's Fury, Flash Floods in Central Afghanistan Kills at Least 24, 12 July 2022
"The Taliban officials in Uruzgan, a central province in Afghanistan, say that turbulent and devastating flash floods in the province have resulted in the death of 24 and the injury of scores of people.
The situation appeared particularly terrible in Uruzgan province, where entire villages remained flooded on Monday, leaving people trapped in areas or forced to swim through knee-deep water on foot, navigating the floods.
According to the Taliban’s spokesperson for the Uruzgan governor’s office, Mawlawi Wali Jan Pohanyar, the floods
have killed at least 24 and injured many people in Uruzgan’s Chora, Khas Uruzgan, and Chinartoo districts.
Women and children, according to him, were no exceptions to nature’s fury and the death toll included both.
At least 300 houses, in Chora district of Uruzgan province alone, were destroyed by the flash floods. Severe flooding in Uruzgan province also inflicted financial harm, costing residents millions of Afghanis.
According to the Taliban officials, the flood-hit Uruzgan province is in dire need of humanitarian assistance, to at least meet their immediate needs.
Deluges and torrential rains have ravaged various regions in Afghanistan, killing hundreds, and injuring numerous people. Many people have also gone missing following the previous floods in Afghanistan.
Simultaneously, floods devastated Gardiz, the provincial capital of Paktia province in south-eastern Afghanistan, killing six people and injuring many more, according to the Taliban’s provincial department of Culture and Information in Paktia."
Ariana News, Flash floods kill 63, injure scores in Afghanistan, 12 July 2022
"At least 63 people have died in flash floods caused by heavy rain in several provinces of Afghanistan in the past week, officials said on Tuesday.
Eighty-one others were injured in the floods which happened in 12 provinces of the country, said Ghulam Ghaws Naseri, acting minister of state for disaster management.
According to the official, 12,250 homes were destroyed or damaged by the floods; 12,000 acres of agricultural land was damaged and 2,000 livestock killed.
“Rains and floods have damaged a lot of homes. Floods have killed people’s livestock. Victims need urgent aid. They are poor people,” said Syedajan, a Nangarhar resident.
“Floods have hit districts including Surkhrod, Momand Dara, Khewa,” said Mir Agha, another Nangarhar resident." […] “The monsoon in India in June, July and August directly effects our country, causing rain in east, southeast, northeast, south and some central parts,” said Mohammad Nasim Muradi, head of the Afghanistan Meteorological Department.
“Such rains bring flash floods in some parts of the country causing human and financial losses.”
The official said that heavy rains and flash floods were expected in the coming days as well."
Ariana News, Sixteen killed in flash floods in Afghanistan, 8 July 2022
"Sixteen people have been killed in flash floods caused by heavy rain in Afghanistan, officials said on Friday. Twenty-two more have been injured in the floods which happened in 11 provinces of the country, said Ghulam Ghaws Naseri, acting minister of state for disaster management. According to the official, 611 houses were destroyed or damaged by the floods. 1,600 livestock also died, he said. The floods destroyed crops covering 54,700 acres of land. Naseri said that the ministry had instructed all its provincial departments to speed up surveying and responding following the floods."
"Up to half a million families in Afghanistan are now facing the prospect of homelessness following increasing pressure from the authorities to return internally displaced people to their areas of origin. […] Decades of conflict, droughts, political instability and economic collapse have driven displaced Afghans into enclaves around bigger cities that over time have grown into slum-like settlements. These informal settlements provide shelter and access to humanitarian assistance to some of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable populations, including internally displaced people and returning refugees."
Neil Turner, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Country Director in Afghanistan, said:
“Returning displaced people to remote areas, without their consent, is not possible in a country facing economic collapse, struggling with acute food insecurity and enduring natural disasters. Humanitarian agencies who have remained in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover are currently stretched to respond, and any return should be in a safe, dignified and informed way.
Unless good alternatives are secured; the closure of informal settlements puts people who are already struggling to survive at greater risk. They have nowhere to go, and many of those living in the makeshift shelters are highly dependent on humanitarian aid. We are extremely concerned that shutting down these settlements is a recipe for another catastrophe.
Almost four thousand people have been forced from their makeshift homes just in and around Kabul. If this continues, we will see tens of thousands of people on the move once again, while humanitarian agencies are ill- equipped to respond to yet another wave of displacement.
[…] Many of the people living in these areas tell NRC they have nothing to go back to in their areas of origin. Despite the harrowing conditions they dwell in, they have managed to settle in, find jobs, send their children to school, or gain access to humanitarian assistance.
[…] In Badgis Province in western Afghanistan, eight informal settlements are at imminent risk of closure, a step potentially impacting around 18,000 individuals. In Kabul, the majority of slums are to be shut down.
[…] Over 24 million people - more than half of the Afghan population - need humanitarian assistance to survive. That is an increase of 30 per cent from last year.
[…] The FAO-WFP have now listed Afghanistan in the top 6 countries that have populations identified or projected to experience starvation or death, or at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions, requiring the most urgent attention.
Tolo News, Afghan Earthquake: Officials Say Transfer of the Wounded Challenging, 21 June 2022
““No house has been left in Gayan; all are destroyed,” another resident of Paktika said.”
Aga Khan Foundation, EU grant to assist over 100,000 Afghans and their communities, 13 June 2022
“Further, as many latrines have been damaged or destroyed during the conflict leaving many displaced people without facilities, the project will rehabilitate 1,300 latrines, benefiting at least 9,100 people. This will help reduce communicable diseases and improve the safety and dignity of communities, particularly women and girls. To complement these activities and address a lack of access to hygiene supplies due to reduced incomes and availability in markets, hygiene kits will be delivered to 6,000 households.”
Shelter Cluster, Winterization Response Dashboard 2021/2022, 5 June 2022 [Click on hyperlink for Infographic]
Global Shelter Cluster, AFGHANISTAN : ESNFI CLUSTER REGIONAL STOCKPILE APRIL 2022, 22 May 2022
[Infographic showing emergency shelters regionally]
Global Shelter Cluster, AFGHANISTAN : ES/NFI CLUSTER REGIONAL SITUATION REPORT, 22 May 2022
[Click on hyperlink for the regional monthly update 01-30 April 2022]
“In April 2022, ESNFI cluster partners identified 12,406 families in need of NFI assistance and shelters toolkits through joint assessment assistance”
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Localized Floods across Afghanistan, Flash Update No. 1, 7 May 2022
"Heavy and unseasonal rainfall across large parts of Afghanistan on Tuesday, 3 May has caused flash flooding directly affecting over 485 families (approximately 3,400 people) in Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Bamyan, Faryab, Hirat, Jawzjan, Kunar, Kunduz, Samangan and Takhar provinces. According to initial information, approximately 13 people were killed and eight people were injured by the flooding and around 1,270 houses either destroyed or damaged. An unconfirmed number of families have also been temporarily displaced and are being accommodated by relatives in neighbouring districts. Livestock was also reportedly killed and injured (nine killed and one injured in Kunar); agricultural land destroyed, and provincial roads damaged in Bamyan and Jawzjan provinces due to encroachment of gravel/land slips. Flood affected people in other provinces are currently being assessed, and affected families require assistance including food, shelter, household items, and WASH support. Longer-term shelter repairs are also expected to be necessary."
"People expressed many of the same needs as in earlier months, including food, cash and shelter. Reports that some community leaders and Taliban de facto authorities are telling aid recipients they must share assistance they received, or who are directly giving it to family and associates not on eligibility lists, continues to be a top feedback topic."
IOM (DTM), Afghanistan - Baseline Mobility and Community Based Needs Assessment (November-December 2021), 11 March 2022
“Among all provinces, Uruzgan faces the most destruction of shelter, where only 26% of shelters are not damaged.”
Humanitarian Response (Afghanistan) United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UNICEF Afghanistan Humanitarian Situation Report #1 1-15 January 2022, 7 February 2022
“Continued rainfall and heavy snow affected access in the Northern, Western, Central and Eastern regions. Affected provinces include Badakhshan, Kabul, Ghor, Kunar, Laghman and Nangarhar. The Afghanistan Meteorological Department (AMD) has predicted heavy rainfall, snowfall, and the possibility of flash food in some parts of the country, according to a statement on 7 January 2022. Provinces such as Khost, Paktia, Logar, Nangarhar, Laghman, Panjshir, Nuristan, Kunar and Badakhshan are expected to the be worst hit with chances of flash floods. Measles cases continue to rise with over 1,000 cases identified during the reporting period.”
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Daily Noon Briefing Highlights: Madagascar, Afghanistan, Yemen, 7 February 2022
“Between 2 and 3 February [...] several hundred families, in Kabul, Badakshan, Laghman, Kandahar and Zabul provinces, received non-food items and other assistance, including emergency shelter kits and tents, blankets and warm clothes, water and sanitation and hygiene supplies as well as cash for shelter repairs. Needs assessments continue. This year, 24.4 million people in Afghanistan – more than half of the total population – require humanitarian assistance.”
UNICEF, Delivering Assistance in Afghanistan as winter sets in, 25 January 2022
“Even before the recent turmoil, more than half of Afghanistan’s children were estimated to be living in poverty. Now, as winter sets in, a deadly combination of rising malnutrition, an unprecedented food crisis, drought and disruptions to vital health and nutrition centres is leaving more children vulnerable to illness and even more families at risk of falling into poverty.[...] Even when children in Parun, Nuristan Province, arrive home after doing chores, winter temperatures that can plunge to around minus 15 celsius mean that families get little respite from the cold. The severe winter conditions increase the risk of pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) as families struggle to heat their homes and keep their children warm. [...] Children living at high altitudes are especially vulnerable and require urgent life-saving assistance including winter clothing, blankets and fuel for heating.”
UNOCHA, Earthquake in Badghis Province, Afghanistan - Flash Update No. 2, 21 January 2022
“A 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck in Qadis District, Badghis Province in the Western Region of Afghanistan on 17 January 2022. Heavy rains in the area prior to the earthquake reportedly rendered mud brick houses more vulnerable to damage. [...] The preliminary estimate by the inter-agency team is that up to 1,000 houses were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. According to the information received from the local sources, the number of deaths due to the earthquake have risen to 27 people. People in affected areas are using water wells that are unsafe. Water sources need to be repaired to prevent outbreaks of water-borne diseases.”
Global Shelter Cluster (Afghanistan), Afghanistan - Joint Winterization Plan 2021-22, 20 January 2022
“As of mid-November 2021, cases of hypothermia, acute respiratory infections, and death directly and indirectly due to cold are set to increase. In many cases these will be attributable to insufficient physical shelter and lack of adequate personal insulation to preserve body core temperature. Poor shelter and unhygienic conditions, particularly in displacement, leave people vulnerable to diseases such as COVID-19, and unable to cope with Afghanistan’s harsh winters. WoAA (2020) reported that ESNFI (57%) is the third priority among the displaced households the others are food (71%); protection (63%); health (51%) and WASH (42%). ESNFI as a third priority among the displaced households are due to damaged shelter, inadequate heating source and shelter with enclosure issue. In addition, 7% of IDPs reported living in inadequate shelters; 81% of IDPs reported inadequate heating source and 60% IDPs reported having less than one blanket per member. In addition, households displaced for more than 6 months (55%) are still living in makeshift shelter, poor transitional shelter, in overcrowded conditions, with little access to services, poor protection from harsh weather and in exceptionally difficult conditions during Afghanistan’s freezing winters.
Households report similar priorities during winter for 2021/2022; with emergency shelter improvements being a self-reported priority need at fifty-seven percent (57%) and need for insulation at thirty one percent (31%), shelter repair five percent (5%), rental support three percent (3%) and other priorities at four percent (4%). Critical needs for non-food items during winter period include fuel at eighty six percent (86%), followed by blankets and winter clothing at fifty seven percent (57%) and forty three percent (43%) respectively. Over Thirty-one percent (31%) per cent of households resorted to using waste (paper, plastic, carton board, etc.) as their main source of energy for heating, twenty three percent (23%) borrowed money to buy fuel, nineteen percent (19%) and eleven percent (11%) resorted to sending children to collect fire wood and decreasing their daily food ration to save money for fuel, respectively. This is particularly concerning as we approach another winter season.”
OCHA, Afghanistan: Humanitarian Response Plan (2022), 11 January 2022
“While conflict and insecurity were the primary drivers of displacement up until August 2021, natural disasters and environmental risks are becoming an increasing driver of underlying need. A national drought was officially declared in June 2021, the worst in more than three decades. 80 per cent of the country is now suffering from either severe or serious drought. This historic drought, brought on by exceptionally low precipitation in 2020-2021, has added to a long silent water crisis and put additional pressure on water resources already strained from population growth (for example in the densely populated cities of Kabul, Kandahar and Herat where 66 per cent of country’s urban population live). Groundwater levels have progressively lowered across the country – in Kabul going from eight meters below land in 2003 to 45 meters in 2021. Even the aquifers in the central region have been affected by a water scarcity crisis currently impacting two-thirds of the country. Overall, the dwindling of the water levels is resulting in the drying up of hand-dug wells, springs, kariz, boreholes and streams. Rural areas, and particularly farming and livestock rearing households, have been hard hit by the 2020-21 drought. The drought is driving food insecurity, and in addition to grain deficits and livestock deaths in both rainfed and irrigated areas.
This is devastating to many households who are still reeling from the crippling effects of the 2018-19 drought and have not had the opportunity to recover, given the cumulative impacts of war and chronic poverty. In addition to the drought, more than 29,000 people in 13 provinces were affected by other natural disasters – mostly floods –throughout Afghanistan in 2021.
Afghanistan has an INFORM Risk Index of 6.8, the fifth highest risk country out of 190 profiled. At the same time, the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index ranks it as the 11th least prepared country against climatic shocks and the 10th most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. With its placement in a seismically active region, Afghanistan remains highly susceptible to catastrophic damage due to earthquakes – particularly across a number of densely populated urban areas along the Chaman, Hari Rud, Central Badakhshan, and Darvaz faults. Each of these faults is capable of producing 7 or 8 Magnitude earthquakes. In the last 10 years, more than 7,000 people have lost their lives because of earthquakes in Afghanistan, with an average of 560 fatalities per year. A contingency plan developed by the Inter-Cluster Coordination Team (ICCT) in late 2020 estimates that if an earthquake of 7.6 magnitude were to strike the seismically risky area between Kabul and Jalalabad, up to 7 million people would be impacted in the areas of worst shaking, throwing three million of the most vulnerable people in need of humanitarian assistance.”
Humanitarian Response (Afghanistan)(UNOCHA), Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update (15-21 November 2021), 26 November 2021
“Some 7,886 families (approximately 55,200 people) have been identified in need of winterization assistance.”
BBC, Afghanistan crisis: G20 leaders pledge to avert economic catastrophe, 13 October 2021
“The takeover of this country has caused a massive shock to an economy that was just about surviving. [...]
In Kabul, hundreds of people are still living in the open in tents with harsher winter months fast approaching.”