In the wake of two deadly earthquakes that flattened mud-brick and wooden houses in Afghanistan, Santa Barbara-based ShelterBox is moving to source tents inside the quake-stricken country to respond more quickly.
Sturdy tents give people in cold mountainous areas temporary shelter, especially with winter approaching.
A 6.0 magnitude temblor struck eastern Afghanistan, near Jalalabad at around midnight on Sunday. A 5.1 magnitude quake temblor hit northern Jalalabad on Tuesday.
Aid agencies are responding but resources are stretched, especially with the severe impact recent government funding cuts have had on Afghanistan.
“ShelterBox’s preparedness work around the world has included Afghanistan. It is ready to go in these moments. That means we have existing partners in the country, who are already carrying out assessments to find out where our support is most needed,” the nonprofit said.
Remote, mountainous, but populated areas of Kunar and Nangarhar have been devastated. The shallow depth of the quakes, just over six miles, made them especially destructive.
Access remains challenging and communication networks are down, making it hard to understand the full scale of the damage, according to ShelterBox.
Before the earthquake, ShelterBox said it was exploring how to support people ahead of winter — displaced by conflict — returning to remote areas of Afghanistan after being deported from Iran and Pakistan.
Afghanistan already was facing a deep humanitarian crisis. Nearly 23 million people, or half the population, need assistance. The need has only grown since the quakes, ShelterBox said.
ShelterBox has responded in Afghanistan before including in 2002, 2006, 2008, 2016-17.