The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
STORYLINE
More than 66,000 directly affected by Afghanistan’s quake victims
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has launched a multi-sectoral Herat Earthquake Response Plan in response to a series of powerful earthquakes that rocked Herat Province since 7 October.
In an update, OCHA reported that at least 1,480 people have been killed and 1,950 wounded.
Satellite imagery indicates that 289 villages have been severely impacted with many destroyed. The most recent earthquake on 15 October affected an estimated 30 new villages, forcing families to live in makeshift shelters or informal settlements. Speaking from Kabul, Katherine Carey, deputy head of the OCHA office in Kabul said that around 66,300 people had also been directly impacted across six primary districts.
Many of those who left their homes following the initial earthquake are now residing outside in either makeshift or temporary shelters out of fear of additional aftershocks, Ms. Carey added.
According to the OCHA spokesperson, the earthquake's impact is far-reaching with
reports of more than 3,700 homes completely destroyed and around 5,000 homes severely damaged. Upwards of 2,600 homes have sustained some kind of damage, along with schools and healthcare facilities.
As winter approaches, concern is also growing as people will be exposed to harsh weather and health risks.
With food resources limited and damaged water and sanitation points, fears are rising about disease outbreaks: “The priority really is to ensure that these families and communities have some protection from the elements.
“In terms of shelter requirements, obviously the immediate priority is to ensure that people not residing out in the open completely and they have some kind of protection,” Ms. Carey explained. “So, in the first instance we are providing families with emergency tents. But the reality is, is that will only be able to withstand them for so long as well. We will have to move them in some kind of transitional shelter, normally a sort of repurposed, prefabricated kind of module that is a bit more like a sort of temporary structure,” Ms. Carey added.
To help, the UN’s Herat Earthquake Response Plan requires some $93 million for 114,000 people. The OCHA spokesperson called on the community not to forget Afghanistan amid other high global needs: “We're able to provide the populations with the assistance they need insofar as we have the resources and the supplies to do so. We're already using existing stock that we have in country of tents, for example, and medical supplies and medicines and also of wash kits and hygiene kits and kits. And those will need to be replenished also as well,” she said.
ends
STORY: Update on Afghanistan’s earthquake response - OCHA
TRT: 02:17”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 17 OCTOBER 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
2. View of interview with OCHA spokesperson.
3. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Katherine Carey, Deputy Head of Office, OCHA Afghanistan: “The information that we've got from our assessments that we've completed is about 66,300 people directly impacted across six primary districts that have sadly been just shy of 1500 people killed and around 2000 injured. The majority of those killed or injured were actually killed and injured in the first earthquake that took place on the 7th of October, after which many people left their homes and are actually residing outside in either makeshift or temporary shelters as well, out of fear that there may be additional aftershocks and the houses may collapse.”
4. View of interview with OCHA spokesperson.
5. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Katherine Carey, Deputy Head of Office, OCHA Afghanistan: “We've got reports of more than 3700 homes completely destroyed, around 5000 homes have been severely damaged. And then there are upwards of 2600 homes that have sustained some kind of damage. So this is affecting, you know, several thousand families in fairly remote, impoverished communities as well.”
6. View of interview with OCHA spokesperson.
7. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Katherine Carey, Deputy Head of Office, OCHA Afghanistan: “The priority really is to ensure that these families and communities have some protection from the elements, especially with winter fast approaching.
8. View of interview with OCHA spokesperson.
9. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Katherine Carey, Deputy Head of Office, OCHA Afghanistan:
In the first instance, we are providing families with emergency tents. But the reality is, is that will only be able to withstand them for so long as well. We will have to move them in some kind of transitional shelter, normally a sort of repurposed, prefabricated kind of module that is a bit more like a sort of temporary temporary structure.”
10. View of interview with OCHA spokesperson.
11. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Katherine Carey, Deputy Head of Office, OCHA Afghanistan: “Yesterday we launched an earthquake response plan outlining our requirements to meet the needs of the priority affected population over the course of winters up until March next year. And of course, you know, we're able to provide the populations with the assistance they need insofar as we have the resources and the supplies to do so.”
12. Screen with OCHA spokesperson.
13. View of interview with OCHA spokesperson.
14. View of interview with OCHA spokesperson.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated attacks on humanitarian warehouses put vital medical aid at risk in Ukraine - WHO
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the UN health agency to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. This is the third attack to affect a WHO-used storage in the last three months.
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNDRR , IFRC , WHO
Nepal: Flooding disaster “not over” as humanitarians work around the clock
While search and rescue efforts continued Friday following flash floods and mudslides in northern Nepal, UN humanitarians are taking stock of the devastation amid concerns over more flooding to come.