Stronger Together: One Year On, Herat’s Earthquake Survivors Rebuild Their Communities

Herat, Afghanistan – In October 2023, Herat province was devastated by powerful earthquakes that left thousands homeless and grieving. The ground’s violent tremors reduced homes to rubble and shattered dreams. A year later, the scars remain, but so do the stories of resilience and recovery.

"When the earthquake struck, it felt like everything was coming to an end," recalled Arzu, a resident of Herat who lost her home in the disaster. “Our world fell apart, but we found a way to endure.”

In the weeks following the earthquakes that hit Sanjabs village in Zindajan district, Arzu and her children slept under whatever cover they could gather to shield themselves from the cold nights.

"After the earthquake, we lost everything – our home, our loved ones. When winter came, it felt like another disaster. We had no shelter to keep us warm and the cold was unbearable. It wasn’t just the earthquake that took lives, the winter did too," she shared.

Approximately half a million people were affected by the four 6.3-magnitude earthquakes in Herat. Homes were damaged, agricultural lands destroyed, and livelihoods disrupted. Many lost their loved ones.

Since February 2024, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been helping communities start over and build back their homes. IOM teams have supported approximately 80,000 people impacted by the devastation. In the immediate aftermath, affected communities were also provided with emergency shelter and other life-saving materials. In the following months. IOM also provided support to families in obtaining building materials for 1,500 transitional shelters and crucial relief items.

Hand in hand with the community, IOM shelter teams helped earthquake survivors build new shelters by providing both support and technical guidance. The newly built structures fostered resilience among survivors and provided families with a safe space to start over.

With such assistance, Arzu is now able to keep her children warm and offer them a sense of security they thought they had lost.

“This shelter is more than a home,” she said. “It’s a promise that we are not forgotten.”

Juma Khan is a proud father who played a key role in constructing his family’s shelter.

“I never imagined I would be involved in rebuilding my own home,” he recounted, adding that he feels immense pride and gratitude for his new abode.

“Every nail I hammered was a testament to the hope we hold for the future.”

For survivors like Juma Khan, his new home is more than just a shelter. It represents a new beginning and a chance for their community to restore hope after a tragedy.

Barat Ibrahim, a community leader from Sanjab, reflected, “The shelters provided us with more than a place to stay. They played a role in bringing us together following the chaos of the earthquake, which had left us scattered and disoriented.”

“We became neighbours, joining forces to reconstruct our homes side by side. We have rediscovered our sense of community."

Besides losing their homes, many of those affected by the earthquakes also lost all their possessions in the disaster, leaving them ill-equipped to endure cold winters.

“We had nothing – no blankets, no heaters, just the clothes on our backs. Every night felt like a battle to survive,” Juma Khan shared.

IOM humanitarian teams have provided winterization assistance for two winters in a row since the October 2023 earthquakes, supporting affected communities as they face Herat’s harsh winters and throughout the process of constructing their new homes.

IOM also provided cooking gas, kitchenware, soap, rugs, cleaning supplies and winter clothing, among other essentials that helped families to stay safe and warm.

More than a year later, life is slowly returning to normal. More people now have tales to share of strength and determination.

"The earthquake hit us hard, and we lost everything, but we showed that in the toughest times, we can stand up again and reconstruct our lives,” Zenab, a widow who tragically lost all her livestock and her home in the disaster, shared.

Despite the obstacles that lie ahead for these families, they are paving the way forward for a better tomorrow.

"Whenever I watch my kids sleeping soundly and securely in their beds, I feel a sense of achievement welling up inside me. This house is more than a shelter, it symbolizes a fresh start for my loved ones,” added Juma Khan.

IOM’s response to the Herat earthquakes was made possible with the support of the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF), the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the KfW Development Bank, the Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA), the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and the US State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), as well as the Governments of Japan, Kuwait and the Republic of Korea.

This story was written by Mohammad Osman Azizi, IOM Afghanistan Communication Associate. For more information, please contact: mohamazizi@iom.int