Response to Afghanistan/Pakistan Earthquake

When the ground started shaking violently during the 7.5-magnitude earthquake on October 26^th in remote Charmango Qala village of Kunar province, Mr. Fazal-Ur-Rehman knew immediately what to do.

He ran out of his house to avoid being injured inside by falling debris. He saw many of the houses around him crumbled, trapping his neighbors inside, and fired his bird-hunting gun in the air—the unofficial SOS signal in the community—to call for help. As soon as other villagers came to his aid, together they started to dig through the rubble searching for survivors. In the meantime, they called the police and army squad to ask for their help. Within just 30 minutes, International Medical Corps-trained Community Emergency Response Team volunteers also responded to the scene. Together, these groups rescued the men, women and children buried under their destroyed homes. Miraculously, everyone was safe and sound.

Kunar province in Afghanistan is an area especially prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides and avalanches. Its mountains are strewn with small villages spread out over thousands of square miles. Because these communities are so hard to reach and often cut off from the outside world during a natural disaster, International Medical Corps has made it a priority to prepare them in advance—creating a response capacity that is immediate and self-reliant. When the earthquake struck, Mr. Fazal-Ur-Rehman knew how best to help himself and his neighbors thanks to the advance training he had received from International Medical Corps.

Meanwhile, in a small village in Chawki district about 20 miles to the southeast, a team of volunteers trained in first aid by International Medical Corps received news of a house that had collapsed in the earthquake. Led by Mr. Malawi Delawar Kahn, the team began a search-and-rescue operation and found three injured people under the rubble. Thanks to their training, the team was able to control the victims’ bleeding before helping with their transfer to a district hospital for further treatment.

Natural disasters are inevitable in this remote part of the world, and the examples of Mr. Fazal-Ur-Rehman and Mr. Malawi Delawar Kahn show that being prepared can mean the difference between life and death. In this response, International Medical Corps drew on its more than 30 years of experience in Afghanistan providing lifesaving medical care, training, and other services to vulnerable populations. Since October 26^th, International Medical Corps has provided more than 30,000 medical and 4,000 psychosocial consultations. We have also reached more than 9,000 earthquake-affected people with emergency relief supplies, such as soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste for hygiene needs and tents and tarp for temporary shelter, and an additional 6,000 people with winterization supplies, including warm clothing and blankets.

International Medical Corps thanks GlobalGiving and other donors for their support as our teams and trained volunteers continue to respond to the devastation that resulted from the October 26^th earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan.