Afghanistan earthquake relief efforts provided with $12 million in U.S. aid

The United States is providing $12 million in “immediate humanitarian assistance” for Afghanistan following multiple devastating earthquakes that killed nearly 1,200 people and leveled villages in the western Herat province.

Over 2,000 people were injured, according to the U.N. and disaster management officials. Twelve villages with over 1,000 homes were completely destroyed.

Two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes, followed by several strong aftershocks, struck on Saturday, followed by another 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the same province on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The U.S. Agency for International Development said in a statement Thursday it would provide the “$12 million in immediate humanitarian assistance to meet the urgent needs of the affected people.”

The earthquake hit with Afghanistan’s economy in a free fall as the country struggles with the world’s worst humanitarian crisis following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, which caused massive cutoffs in Afghan aid.

The devastating earthquakes “come at a time of immense humanitarian needs when 15 million people do not know where the next meal will come from,” said Anamaria Salhuana, the World Food Programme’s deputy country director in Afghanistan. “WFP urgently needs $400 million to help 7 million of the most vulnerable people survive the coming months.”

The U.S. had frozen $7 billion in central bank assets when the government dissolved following the withdrawal of U.S. forces and the Taliban taking over the country by force. Half of that money was moved to a Swiss account in 2022 to benefit the people of Afghanistan.

Analysts argue it’s time for the funds to be released to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

“This might be the right time to unlock a small portion of this fund as an emergency measure to finance rebuilding the victims’ homes,” Torek Farhadi, a veteran regional analyst, told CBS News. “A safe mechanism should be possible to be worked out to satisfy all audit requirements and a small trust fund can be established for that purpose.”

Bibi, an older woman who survived the earthquakes, doubts she would survive the harsh winter as she lost her house and livelihood.

“I became … miserable, I lost everything I had built in my life, I have no place to sleep, I have no bread to eat,” she told CBS News.

Meanwhile, an explosion inside a Shiite mosque Friday killed several worshippers in northern Baghlan province, according to Mustafa Hashimi, head of the province’s Information and Culture Department. A statement from Baghlan police said at least seven people were killed and 15 were wounded.