From the Field: Afghan earthquake survivors look to rebuild their lives

Zarlakht sits in the street next to her destroyed house in the Afghanistan earthquake, disoriented.

Afghans caught up in the devastating earthquake that hit the country on June 22, killing more than 1,000 and injured over 6,000 people, are sharing their traumatic stories.

A boy walks up the hill to his former home, destroyed by the earthquake that hit Afghanistan in June 2022 ., by IOM/Léo Torréton

”I saw bodies being pulled out of the rubble, injured people, and maybe dead people”, says Krushnal, a survivor from Barmal. “I heard cries of pain everywhere I went”. He is still living with his four children on the site of their collapsed house.

The UN migration agency (IOM) was able to respond quickly, sending emergency shelter items to the affected region. The next step is to help the communities to clear the rubble and safely rebuild their damaged homes.

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