Resilience Amid Rubble: Recovery After Afghanistan Earthquakes
Main Article Content
Angelea Panos
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4405-1454
Ahmad Hamid Wahidy
Patrick T. Panos
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7617-7169
Shiwa Askandari
Nafisa Saeedi
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4405-1454
Ahmad Hamid Wahidy
Patrick T. Panos
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7617-7169
Shiwa Askandari
Nafisa Saeedi
Abstract
Introduction/Importance: This study examines the impact of the 2023 earthquakes in the hardest-hit area, Herat Province, Afghanistan. Expanding upon existing ongoing research, this study used this unique opportunity as a naturalistic experiment examining community resiliency after disaster in Afghanistan.
Objectives of Study: The goal was to identify possible resiliency factors that assisted community responses to the earthquakes and aftershocks and the resulting disaster sequelae.
Background: Decades of conflict, poverty, and lack of infrastructure, along with oppressive Taliban restrictions, left many communities especially vulnerable to the disaster. A lack of an organized government response required the people to depend on their own community resources. Resilience factors were identified amid the impoverished destruction and Taliban-imposed restrictions.
Methods: Data collection relied on in-person surveys using purposeful and snowball sampling due to safety concerns. A mixed-methods approach integrated qualitative thematic analysis and quantitative background data.
Results: Findings highlight survival strategies and resilience mechanisms in affected communities, contributing to the understanding of crisis responses under oppressive conditions. Three factors appeared critical in our research on the relatively resilient communities post-earthquake in Afghanistan. First, the importance of the role of localized family and extended family groups was identified. Second, the role of the local religious leaders was especially helpful as a communication pathway, along with providing hope. Finally, a return to youth activities with the support of teachers and coaches was an important resiliency factor. This naturalistic study identified that even in devastated communities there were sources of strength that could be utilized for disaster recovery.
Keywords:
Afghanistan, Community Resiliency, Natural Disaster, Earthquakes, Naturalistic Study
Article Details
How to Cite
PANOS, Angelea et al.
Resilience Amid Rubble: Recovery After Afghanistan Earthquakes.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 13, n. 6, sep. 2025.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/6967>. Date accessed: 09 jan. 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i6.6967.
Section
Research Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
References
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27. Panos A, Panos P. The Importance of Non-Governmental Organizations in Response to the Corona Virus Pandemic in Rural Mozambique: A Case Study. Med Res Arch. 2024;12(10). doi:10.18103/mra.v12i10.5910
28. Saja AMA, Teo M, Goonetilleke A, Ziyath AM. A Critical Review of Social Resilience Properties and Pathways in Disaster Management. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. 2021;12(6):790-804. doi:10.1007/s13753-021-00378-y
29. Hobfoll SE, Watson P, Bell CC, et al. Five Essential Elements of Immediate and Mid-Term Mass Trauma Intervention: Empirical Evidence. Focus. 2009;7(2):221-242. doi:10.1176/foc.7.2.foc221
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31. Phillips BD, Mincin J. Disaster Recovery. Third edition. Routledge; 2023. doi:10.4324/9781003261636
32. Cheema AR, Scheyvens R, Glavovic B, Imran M. Unnoticed but important: revealing the hidden contribution of community-based religious institution of the mosque in disasters. Nat Hazards. 2014; 71(3):2207-2229. doi:10.1007/s11069-013-1008-0
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34. Chan CS, Rhodes JE. Religious Coping, Posttraumatic Stress, Psychological Distress, and Posttraumatic Growth Among Female Survivors Four Years After Hurricane Katrina. J Trauma Stress. 2013;26(2):257-265. doi:10.1002/jts.21801
35. Cheema AR, Scheyvens R, Glavovic B, Imran M. Unnoticed but important: revealing the hidden contribution of community-based religious institution of the mosque in disasters. Nat Hazards. 2014; 71(3):2207-2229. doi:10.1007/s11069-013-1008-0
36. Wolf FD. Religious Leader’s Engagement in Disaster Management. JLI. February 17, 2025. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://jliflc.com/2025/02/religious-leaders-engagement-in-disaster-management/
37. Bikar SS, Rathakrishnan B, Kamaluddin MR, Che Mohd Nasir N, Mohd Nasir MA. Social Sustainability of Post-Disaster: How Teachers Enable Primary School Students to Be Resilient in Times of Ranau Earthquake. Sustainability. 2021;13(13):7308. doi:10.3390/su13137308
38. Ferris C, O’Brien K. The ins and outs of posttraumatic growth in children and adolescents: A systematic review of factors that matter. J Trauma Stress. 2022;35(5):1305-1317. doi:10.1002/jts.22845
39. Cox RS, Scannell L, Heykoop C, Tobin-Gurley J, Peek L. Understanding youth disaster recovery: The vital role of people, places, and activities. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2017;22:249-256. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.03.011
40. Kunz V. Sport as a post-disaster psychosocial intervention in Bam, Iran. Sport Soc. 2009;12(9): 1147-1157. doi:10.1080/17430430903137803
41. Thorpe H. Informal sports for youth recovery: grassroots strategies in conflict and disaster geographies. J Youth Stud. 2021;24(6):708-730. doi:10.1080/13676261.2020.1763936
2. Shapour, R. Nature’s Fury: The Herat earthquakes of 2023. Afghanistan Analysts Network - English. November 10, 2023. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/economy-development-environment/nautres-fury-the-herat-earthquakes-of-2023/
3. Afghanistan earthquake emergency 6-month impact report - V4.pdf. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/Afghanistan%20earthquake%20emergency%206-month%20impact%20report%20-%20V4.pdf
4. Semple M. Afghanistan earthquakes: Taliban interference in aid efforts is affecting disaster response. The Conversation. October 13, 2023. Accessed May 17, 2025. http://theconversation.com/afghanistan-earthquakes-taliban-interference-in-aid-efforts-is-affecting-disaster-response-215511
5. Crisis in Afghanistan: What you need to know and how to help | The IRC. May 17, 2024. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.rescue.org/article/crisis-afghanistan-what-you-need-know-and-how-help
6. Starving Afghan earthquake survivors face reality of aid shortfall - Nikkei Asia. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Natural-disasters/Starving-Afghan-earthquake-survivors-face-reality-of-aid-shortfall
7. Chen H. Aid groups warn devastation from Afghanistan earthquake ‘worse than we imagined.’ CNN. October 9, 2023. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/world/herat-afghanistan-earthquake-aid-challenges-intl-hnk
8. ReliefWeb. Afghanistan Earthquake in Herat Province, Health Situation Report No. 6, 12 October 2023 - Afghanistan | ReliefWeb. October 12, 2023. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-earthquake-herat-province-health-situation-report-no-6-12-october-2023
9. International M. Herat Afghanistan Earthquake Shelter and Housing Response. October 11, 2023. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://miyamotointernational.com/2023-herat-afghanistan-earthquake-preliminary-shelter-and-housing-response/
10. Almost 100,000 Afghan children are in dire need of support, 3 months after earthquakes, UNICEF says. AP News. January 15, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/children-need-support-western-afghanistan-efe8e974a6befab9669306f25f03221c
11. ‘A mountain of hardship’, as Afghanistan suffers yet another earthquake | UN News. October 16, 2023. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142402
12. Abbasi F. “A Disaster for the Foreseeable Future.” Hum Rights Watch. Published online February 12, 2024. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/02/12/disaster-foreseeable-future/afghanistans-healthcare-crisis
13. Afghanistan. In: The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency; 2025. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/
14. Afghanistan: Agencies launch funding appeal for quake-hit families | UN News. October 13, 2023. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142327
15. Afghanistan: Three years of Taliban rule and international inaction for Afghans. Amnesty International. August 15, 2024. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/08/afghanistan-three-years-of-taliban-rule-and-international-inaction-have-left-afghan-community-with-little-hope/
16. Flacks Marti, Preputnik LB, Larnerd NJ. The Taliban’s Increasing Restrictions on Civil Society and Aid Organizations. Published online February 16, 2023. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.csis.org/analysis/talibans-increasing-restrictions-civil-society-and-aid-organizations
17. FAQs: Afghan women three years after the Taliban takeover. UN Women – Europe and Central Asia. August 20, 2024. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://eca.unwomen.org/en/stories/explainer/2024/08/faqs-afghan-women-three-years-after-the-taliban-takeover-0
18. Noack R. As Taliban starts restricting men, too, some regret not speaking up sooner. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/22/afghanistan-taliban-restrictions-men-beards/. September 22, 2024. Accessed April 6, 2025.
19. Cohen J. A Coefficient of Agreement for Nominal Scales. Educ Psychol Meas. 1960;20(1):37-46. doi:10.1177/001316446002000104
20. Ungar M. Resilience, Trauma, Context, and Culture. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2013;14(3):255-266. doi:10.1177/1524838013487805
21. Djalante R, Holley C, Thomalla F, Carnegie M. Pathways for adaptive and integrated disaster resilience. Nat Hazards. 2013;69(3):2105-2135. doi:10.1007/s11069-013-0797-5
22. Fernandez G, Ahmed I. “Build back better” approach to disaster recovery: Research trends since 2006. Prog Disaster Sci. 2019;1:100003. doi:10.1016/j.pdisas.2019.100003
23. Kyne D, Kyei D. Understanding Associations between Disasters and Sustainability, Resilience, and Poverty: An Empirical Study of the Last Two Decades. Sustainability. 2024;16(17):7416. doi:10.3390/su16177416
24. Links JM, Schwartz BS, Lin S, et al. COPEWELL: A Conceptual Framework and System Dynamics Model for Predicting Community Functioning and Resilience After Disasters. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2018;12(1):127-137. doi:10.1017/dmp.2017.39
25. Mayer B. A Review of the Literature on Community Resilience and Disaster Recovery. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2019;6(3):167-173. doi:10.1007/s40572-019-00239-3
26. Panday S, Rushton S, Karki J, Balen J, Barnes A. The role of social capital in disaster resilience in remote communities after the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2021;55:102112. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102112
27. Panos A, Panos P. The Importance of Non-Governmental Organizations in Response to the Corona Virus Pandemic in Rural Mozambique: A Case Study. Med Res Arch. 2024;12(10). doi:10.18103/mra.v12i10.5910
28. Saja AMA, Teo M, Goonetilleke A, Ziyath AM. A Critical Review of Social Resilience Properties and Pathways in Disaster Management. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. 2021;12(6):790-804. doi:10.1007/s13753-021-00378-y
29. Hobfoll SE, Watson P, Bell CC, et al. Five Essential Elements of Immediate and Mid-Term Mass Trauma Intervention: Empirical Evidence. Focus. 2009;7(2):221-242. doi:10.1176/foc.7.2.foc221
30. Afghanistan: One year after devastating quakes in 2023, residents get keys to a new life | IFRC. December 17, 2024. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.ifrc.org/article/afghanistan-one-year-after-devastating-quakes-2023-residents-get-keys-new-life
31. Phillips BD, Mincin J. Disaster Recovery. Third edition. Routledge; 2023. doi:10.4324/9781003261636
32. Cheema AR, Scheyvens R, Glavovic B, Imran M. Unnoticed but important: revealing the hidden contribution of community-based religious institution of the mosque in disasters. Nat Hazards. 2014; 71(3):2207-2229. doi:10.1007/s11069-013-1008-0
33. Nurdin MR. Islamic faith‐based organisations and their role in building social capital for post‐disaster recovery in Indonesia. Disasters. 2024; 48(S1):e12635. doi:10.1111/disa.12635
34. Chan CS, Rhodes JE. Religious Coping, Posttraumatic Stress, Psychological Distress, and Posttraumatic Growth Among Female Survivors Four Years After Hurricane Katrina. J Trauma Stress. 2013;26(2):257-265. doi:10.1002/jts.21801
35. Cheema AR, Scheyvens R, Glavovic B, Imran M. Unnoticed but important: revealing the hidden contribution of community-based religious institution of the mosque in disasters. Nat Hazards. 2014; 71(3):2207-2229. doi:10.1007/s11069-013-1008-0
36. Wolf FD. Religious Leader’s Engagement in Disaster Management. JLI. February 17, 2025. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://jliflc.com/2025/02/religious-leaders-engagement-in-disaster-management/
37. Bikar SS, Rathakrishnan B, Kamaluddin MR, Che Mohd Nasir N, Mohd Nasir MA. Social Sustainability of Post-Disaster: How Teachers Enable Primary School Students to Be Resilient in Times of Ranau Earthquake. Sustainability. 2021;13(13):7308. doi:10.3390/su13137308
38. Ferris C, O’Brien K. The ins and outs of posttraumatic growth in children and adolescents: A systematic review of factors that matter. J Trauma Stress. 2022;35(5):1305-1317. doi:10.1002/jts.22845
39. Cox RS, Scannell L, Heykoop C, Tobin-Gurley J, Peek L. Understanding youth disaster recovery: The vital role of people, places, and activities. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2017;22:249-256. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.03.011
40. Kunz V. Sport as a post-disaster psychosocial intervention in Bam, Iran. Sport Soc. 2009;12(9): 1147-1157. doi:10.1080/17430430903137803
41. Thorpe H. Informal sports for youth recovery: grassroots strategies in conflict and disaster geographies. J Youth Stud. 2021;24(6):708-730. doi:10.1080/13676261.2020.1763936