Earthquake in Western Afghanistan

View of Herat area after the earthquake that struck western Afghanistan on 7 October.

9 October 2023

Following the earthquake in western Afghanistan on Saturday 9 October, MSF has set up five medical tents at the Herat Regional Hospital to accommodate up to 80 patients. According to health authorities, more than 300 wounded patients have been treated at the hospital so far. Over the weekend, we dispatched mass casualty kits to treat up to 400 wounded patients and stationed a medical team at the hospital's emergency room for additional support to the hospital’s medical teams if necessary. As rescue efforts and search for wounded continue in affected areas, we are monitoring the situation and will adapt our response as needed.

We asked Yahya Kalilah, MSF's Head of Programme in Afghanistan, for an update on the current situation.

View of Herat area and MSF operations. An earthquake has struck western Afghanistan on 7 October. At approximately 11:10 am local time on Saturday, the region experienced a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, followed by three subsequent aftershocks measuring 5.5, 4.7, and 5.9 on the Richter scale. In the western region, MSF supports the Herat Regional Hospital and managed the paediatric section including triage, emergency room, inpatient therapeutic feeding centre (ITFC), paediatric ICU, intermediate care unit and the ambulatory (outpatient) therapeutic feeding centre (ATFC). In response to potential additional needs, MSF has established five medical tents within the hospital compound with the capacity to accommodate up to 80 patients.

What is the situation in Herat now?

Today, Herat is still experiencing aftershocks, which is unsettling for everyone. According to data from the Ministry of Public Health and Herat Regional Hospital, there have been 2,445 reported deaths and 2,440 injuries in Herat Province so far. However, as you can imagine in situations like this data is hard to verify and the figures may change.

As of today, over 540 patients have been treated at Herat Regional Hospital where MSF teams are supporting, and other patients have been treated in private hospitals.

Most of the cases are women and children, likely because when the earthquake hit mid-morning, they were the ones at home.

What is MSF doing?

This morning there were still 340 patients in the regional hospital, mostly classified as mild to moderate. Many are in the tents set up by MSF because even though they could be discharged they don’t have homes to return to. The authorities are looking into how to accommodate them.

MSF teams in different parts of Afghanistan sent additional supplies yesterday, and the Herat team donated mass casualty medical supplies to the regional hospital, enough to treat 400 people.

A team made up of operational, medical and logistical staff left today to assess some of the most-affected areas outside of the city and to provide medical first-aid.

What will happen next?

MSF teams continue to be very busy and will continue to support the Herat Regional Hospital. Our response will adapt if needed, as the situation becomes clearer both in the city and in the districts. The most immediate need at the hospital right now is to find shelter for those people who have lost everything.

In the western region, MSF supports the Herat Regional Hospital and managed the paediatric section including triage, emergency room, inpatient therapeutic feeding centre (ITFC), paediatric ICU, intermediate care unit and the ambulatory (outpatient) therapeutic feeding centre (ATFC). In response to potential additional needs, MSF has established five medical tents within the hospital compound with the capacity to accommodate up to 80 patients.

Earthquake in Western Afghanistan