Northern village devastated by earthquake

A blanket of death covers the northern Afghanistan village of Dakhil Ezaw. Following Sundays powerful earthquake, 70 villagers now lie buried metres deep below an ivory-coloured avalanche of lime powder.

Another 30 people were drinking tea in the village restaurant before evening prayers. They were also instantly buried under tons of lime powder – as fine as flour but heavy enough to destroy houses, engulf roads and dam the river passing through the village.

The tremors were so strong that they caused the rock face directly above Dakhil Ezaw to break away and bury most of the village. There is little hope of finding survivors amongst the 100 people missing.

Of the 100 people missing, only 8 bodies, including one woman and a child, have been recovered. Fifteen people were injured and have been treated and 400 families have been displaced. Over 500 livestock – cattle, sheep, horses and donkeys – were lost, along with large amounts of farm land.

The village sits at the bottom of a narrow valley in northern Afghanistan's Samangon Province. It is surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs yet the valley bottom is called Dara-e-Jawandone, known locally as the Valley of Life.

The name comes from the fertile land which graces both sides of the Khurm Wa Sarbagh River that winds its way through the valley and past Dakhil Ezaw. The narrow floor of the valley is alive with colour, with its new crop of wheat fields and almond, apricot, peach and groundnut trees.

But on reaching what's left of Dakhil Ezaw the visitor is confronted with a surreal, morbid winter-wonderland. Entire trees are covered in lime powder centimetres thick. Wheat fields have disappeared under the thick blanket and with the exception of the houses on the highest banks of the river, the village has virtually disappeared. The river has been choked stagnant by the avalanche, creating a mini-lake that has flooded homes.

"I was walking through those trees way over there", Abdul Halin told IRIN, pointing to the massive dunes of lime powder that now engulf the valley. "I don't really remember very much. I felt the earth shaking below my feet and there was a big noise as the mountain fell down. But then everything went dark – I don't know if it was because of the dust or if it was because I went unconscious. When I woke up I found myself laying on a tree about 25 metres away from were I had been last standing."

The earthquake took place late on Sunday afternoon, 3 March, with a magnitude of 7.2 and was felt as far away as northern India. It was the largest earthquake in Afghanistan since 1983.

A day later, UNICEF's Health Officer, Dr Ghulam Rafiqi, was part of a rapid assessment mission, arriving by helicopter upriver from Dakhil Ezaw, with representatives of other UN agencies
and NGOs. Time on the ground was short and access to the site difficult, but following discussions with the District Administrator and the people of Dakhil Ezaw, planning took place that evening for the immediate loading, shipment and distribution of various urgently needed non-food items to the people of the devastated village.

"Having helped to address the immediate needs of the displaced and the villagers whose homes may be threatened by the rising water, we are also looking at the health situation," Dr Rafiqi told IRIN. "UNICEF will be working with the Ministry of Public Health workers to make people aware that using the river water for drinking, washing or bathing cannot continue.

With the number of bodies and livestock lost in such a concentrated area and chemicals from the lime, the water may become contaminated. "Water and sanitation hygiene awareness will be our next challenge," he said, looking across the ghostly Valley of Life.