Afghanistan - Herat Earthquake Displacement Assessment: Key Findings Report on IDPs (December 2023)

In early October, four large earthquakes and their aftershocks affected the western province of Herat. Since 23 October, IOM DTM Afghanistan has conducted a household-level assessment to determine the immediate needs and conditions of the affected population. As of 6 December, IOM DTM Afghanistan has covered seven affected districts in Herat, including Gulran, Guzara, Herat, Injil, Karukh, Kushk, and Zindajan. The following key findings report focuses on data collected among:
1) New internally displaced persons (IDPs): people who have been displaced for the first time following the earthquake. 
2) Secondary IDPs: people who were already displaced before the earthquake and were displaced again due to the earthquake. 
While the following population groups were included in the overall assessment, they are not included in the following report:
1) Returned IDPs: people who were IDPs but have since returned to their location of origin. They are not included in the report due to their small sample size (n=24).
2) Non-IDPs: People who are no longer residing in their original compound but have remained within the limits of their village and thus are familiar with the area and have social connections to support their needs, 20,766 non-IDP households in the affected areas were assessed, however, their information is outside the scope of this report and is therefore also omitted. 

The estimated number of IDPs in Herat for 2021 and 2022 was 250,000 individuals according to IOM’s Baseline Mobility Assessment Round 16, making it one of the largest IDP hosting provinces in the country. Data from IOM’s Multi-Sector Rapid Assessment shows that the districts of Zindajan and Injil were most heavily affected by the earthquake, with roughly half of the population in Zindajan and a third of the population in Injil having to leave their homes. The results of this assessment show that out of the affected, roughly five per cent are IDPs (new, secondary, or returned) while 95 per cent had to leave their original homes but remained within the limits of their village.