Northern Afghanistan Earthquake: Displaced International Calls for Winterized Aid to Displaced Families

Displaced International (DI) extends condolences and solidarity with communities struck by the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that hit just after midnight on November 3 near the Balkh–Samangan border.

According to initial reporting from health and humanitarian partners, over 20 people have lost their lives, and hundreds to nearly 1,000 have been injured. The heaviest impacts are recorded in Samangan and Balkh provinces, with additional damage across Sar-e-Pul, Kunduz, and neighboring northern provinces, as referenced in the World Health Organization (WHO) first situation report and international coverage by The Guardian and The Washington Post.

“Families displaced by the earthquake are entering winter without safe shelter, heat, or clean water. We urge Afghanistan’s neighbors and international partners to deliver impactful, winter-long support—winterized shelter and heating, safe water and sanitation, nutritious food, emergency health and protection—and to provide cash assistance so households have the flexibility to meet their most urgent needs. Timely, sustained aid will save lives and preserve dignity,” said Ambassador Ashraf Haidari, DI President.

Mazar-e-Sharif’s historic Blue Mosque and surrounding urban infrastructure sustained notable damage, underscoring the fragility of the built environment as winter temperatures drop below freezing.

This disaster comes less than three months after a series of earthquakes on August 31 devastated Afghanistan’s eastern provinces—Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman, and parts of Nuristan—causing over 2,150 deaths, thousands injured, and the destruction of entire villages. These figures are consolidated in OCHA’s Eastern Region Earthquake Response Overview and summarized on ReliefWeb’s disaster page. Many families there remain displaced and under-assisted, approaching the cold season.

Immediate Humanitarian Priorities

• Safe water and sanitation: Emergency water trucking and chlorination, hygiene kits, and temporary latrines are vital to prevent disease outbreaks among displaced families.

• Food assistance: Ready-to-eat rations and cash or voucher support are required in areas where markets are disrupted, as reflected in the WFP operational update.

• Emergency shelter and winterization: Tents, tarpaulins, repair kits, blankets, warm clothing, heaters, and fuel are urgently needed. Many families remain outdoors after their mud-brick homes collapsed. Persistent aftershocks and unsafe structures have been highlighted as critical threats in ECHO/GDACS situation updates.

Call to Action

Regional support now. Afghanistan’s neighbors and regional organizations should open and sustain air and overland humanitarian corridors for the delivery of water, food, medicines, shelter materials, and fuel, coordinated with UN agencies and NGOs through the OCHA Afghanistan hub.

A global humanitarian surge. Donors must fully fund emergency appeals for both the northern and eastern earthquake responses to ensure large-scale winterization and early recovery. Efforts should align with the Eastern Earthquake Response Overview and associated sector plans.

Protect and assist the displaced. Thousands are now sheltering in schools, open spaces, and damaged compounds. All response efforts should prioritize women, children, older adults, and persons with disabilities, following standards and priorities identified in the WHO situation report and UNICEF first-24-hour flash update.

Displaced International is urging coordination among national authorities, UN agencies, NGO partners, and donors to prioritize life-saving water, food, and shelter for affected families and to sustain support through the winter and early recovery. Immediate, well-coordinated action is essential to prevent a secondary humanitarian crisis across Afghanistan’s earthquake-affected northern and eastern provinces.