Coordination of Afghan Relief
Types of Disaster in Afghanistan
Short Report
Kabul-Afghanistan
Coar_kbl@yahoo.com
www.coar.org.af
Executive Summary
Afghanistan is considered as a country prone to a number of natural disasters suchlike
earthquakes, flooding, drought, landslides, and avalanches & man-made disasters:
Earthquakes are relatively frequent, being more frequent in the north and northeast,
and often trigger landslides. Floods are common in the spring when snow begins to
melt and rainfall is heavy & in south and southeast often trigger drought floods.
As Afghanistan is located in a zone of high-seismic activity. Given the rugged and
mountainous nature of the country and the location of villages, towns and cities, there
is always a high propensity for widespread death and destruction whenever an
earthquake, landslide, mudslide, avalanche, or flooding occurs.
Since 2000, there have been about 9 major earthquakes occurred, and from recently
disasters that occurred, It is estimated that at least 6,000 families (over 42,000
individuals) across 21 provinces have been affected by avalanches, flooding, landslides
and heavy snowfall since February 2014.
Decades of War and civil conflict, as well as environmental degradation, have all
contributed to increasing vulnerability of the Afghan people to natural disasters.
Several assessments by the humanitarian agencies have revealed significant
shortcomings in the areas of water, sanitation, health, security and natural resource
management. Furthermore, the high level of poverty, lack of livelihood and income
generating opportunities, chronic health problems, and poor state of the infrastructure
all add to the burden of natural disasters on the people of Afghanistan.
Though it is not possible to completely avoid natural disasters, but the sufferings can
be minimized by creating proper awareness of the likely disasters and its impact by
developing a suitable warning system, disaster preparedness and management of
disasters through application of information technology tools.
Types of Disaster that occurred recently in Afghanistan
1. Landslides In Badakhshan Province:
On 2nd May 2014, a series of heavy rain induced in multiple landslides struck in the
Nowabad area of Aab-e-Barik village of Argo district, Badakhshan Province in northeastern
Afghanistan and causing significant loss of life and widespread damage to homes and
agriculture. Provincial authorities report that around 200 to 350 Afghans have been buried
(killed), more were missing and many families have been displaced.
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Badakhshan Landslide Disaster
Badakhshan Landslides
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Funeral prayer for the group of village people who lost their lives in landslide
Interviewing the Badakhshan Landslide affected people by the technical team of
GRTV
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2. Flash-Flood in Baghlan Province of Afghanistan:
The Flash Flood hit the Guzargah-e-Nur district of Baghlan Province on April 25 & June 6 of
2014 that forced thousands of people to flee and more than 100 of the residence have lost
their lives.
The Flood destroyed four villages and the water had washed away 2,000 residential houses,
agricultural
fields, roads and
also
killed
thousands
of
cattle, that more
than
800
families
had
been affected by
the
natural
disaster.
Flash Flood in Baghlan Province of Afghanistan
Many homes in the remote northern province have been submerged by the floods
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3. Avalanches in Panjsher province of Afghanistan:
Avalanches in Panjsher province caused by a heavy winter snow have claimed lives of at
least 124 people in northeastern Afghanistan, the avalanches buried homes across four
northeast provinces with worst hit to be Panjshir province, located around 100 kilometers
northeast of the capital, Kabul.
The avalanches occurred in Paryan, Hessa Doyem and Awal districts and Parakh, the
provincial capital. The heavy snowstorms, which began early Tuesday, have hampered the
rescue efforts.
There was also an avalanche in Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province which claimed lives of
at least twelve people on Sunday. Deadly avalanches are common in winter season in
mountainous region of Afghanistan.
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TYPES OF DISASTER IN AFGHANISTAN - JUNE 2015
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