Shafaqna English- Afghanistan’s Earthquakes on August 31 destroyed homes and livestock, the only assets owned by most families, and left survivors with almost nothing to rebuild as aid runs thin.
At least 2,200 people were killed and more than half a million affected when a powerful earthquake struck the region on the night of August 31, followed by a series of strong aftershocks. The quakes have left tens of thousands of people homeless, with some fearing further landslides.
Abdul Ghafar, 52, has been living with his family of 10 under a tarpaulin in Bamba Kot, a village in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, since the quakes struck. The walls of his stone house are cracked, the ceilings have collapsed, and rubble covers the floor, forcing the family to sleep outside.
“We only need one tent,” he said, adding that officials refused to register his damaged house as uninhabitable. For many families in rural Afghanistan, homes, land, and livestock are all they can call their own.
“In Afghanistan, households store wealth in homes, land and livestock, so when earthquakes destroy these assets, entire balance sheets collapse overnight,” said Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, Professor at the University of Pittsburgh who specialises in governance in fragile states.
Sources: Ariana News