Blog Final

 The most common natural hazards that occur in Afghanistan are landslides/mudflows and Earthquakes. Landslides happen nearly every year in Afghanistan affecting many lives. The most predominant landslide was in April of 2019 affecting nearly 175000 people. The heaviest affected areas were the Western and Southern parts of Afghanistan. 

Earthquakes have also had high prominence in Afghanistan, and as of the last ten years, there have been three Earthquakes that have affected over 50000 people. In 2022, an earthquake hit the southeastern part of Afghanistan affecting 90,145 people. In 2015, the biggest Earthquake recorded in the last ten years took a toll on the whole country with 153739 people affected. Finally, in 2013, nearly 50,000 were affected in the eastern province of Afghanistan. 

I have some recommendations that I would address to mitigate these hazards. First, I would establish information for the government to be aware of the hazards in particular areas of Afghanistan, and then implement engineering works to strengthen structures around Afghanistan. For landslides and mudflows, I would manage local drainage and attempt to prevent oversaturation of the land during rain or snowfall.

The province of Faryab in Afghanistan unfortunately seems to have been affected most by these natural disasters. In Northern Afghanistan, Faryab has had its fair share of landslides, that have a serious effect on over 300,000 people.

Finally, the area of Afghanistan where I would build my house would be in the Central Highlands. Very rarely affected by any natural hazards, mostly snowfall from the mountains. Particularly the province of Bamyan. Some serious snowfall was the last major hazard, affecting a little bit over 11,000 people. All in all, Bamyan would be a great place to call home in Afghanistan if you wanna get away from the natural hazards of the country!


References: https://response.reliefweb.int/afghanistan/natural-disasters-dashboard#:~:text=Afghanistan%20is%20prone%20to%20earthquakes,drought%2C%20landslides%2C%20and%20avalanches. 

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/watermgmt_section/shoreland/landslide-mitigation.pdf 

https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/afghanistan-disaster-risk-management-and-resilience-program#1

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