The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in 185 countries.
In Brief
Interim Final Report; Period covered: 26 December 2003 to 28 February 2007; Appeal coverage: 97%.
Appeal history:
- Preliminary Appeal Launched on 26 December 2003 for CHF 15,409,300 (USD 12,290,337 or EUR 9,886,505) for 6 months for 200,000 beneficiaries.
- Revised Emergency Appeal launched on 8 January 2004 for CHF 51,913,000 (USD 42,006,534 or EUR 33,119,207) for 6 - 8 months for 210,000 beneficiaries.
- Plan of Action for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction phase presented on 29 September 2004, to reflect on-going programming into 2005-2006, under the overall Emergency Appeal. A revised appeal budget reflects the revised Plan of Action, and totaling to CHF 53,288,000 (USD 45,231,315 or EUR 34,324,335)(1).
- Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: N/A
This operation is aligned with the International Federation's Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".
Global Agenda Goals:
- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.
- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.
- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.
- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.
Background and Summary
On the morning of 26 December 2003, at 05:28 (local time), a strong earthquake measuring 6.51 on the Richter scale struck the city of Bam, Kerman Province, south-eastern Iran. The earthquake was one of the shallowest ever recorded, with the epicenter being only 10-12 kilometers underneath the Bam city. In Iran, which is ranked as the fourth most disaster-prone country in the world, this was the worst earthquake to hit the country in more than a decade.
Within a few seconds, Bam, a city with a history of 2,500 years and an internationally renowned heritage site, was almost completely destroyed. According to the data released by the Iranian Government in the first half of 2004, more than 29,000 people were killed and approximately 23,000 injured. More than 85 percent of the buildings were completely destroyed. Although most of the casualties occurred in Bam itself, the impact on surrounding rural areas was also severe. As a result of the earthquake the electricity, water supply, and most public health and education services were completely disrupted.
Key figures concerning the impact of the earthquake
|
Description of the
impact
|
Number
|
| People killed |
29,878
|
| People injured |
22,628
|
| Houses destroyed beyond repair in Bam City and surrounding villages |
25,000 (out of 29,500)
|
| People affected (by loss of economic activity and damage to property and infrastructure) |
200,000
|
| Inhabitants in the most affected
area
- Bam - Baravat - Surrounding villages |
90,000 15,000 10,000 |
| People left homeless (March, 2004) |
45,000 (In addition, 20,000
stayed with extended family and 10,000 were hospitalized)
|
| Number of schools destroyed
or unusable
- Bam City - Surrounding villages |
93 38 |
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement quickly responded to the large scale devastation caused by the earthquake. Emergency response teams from the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) began mobilizing within half an hour and in less than two hours search and rescue teams had started arriving in Bam. More than 8,500 relief workers, including trained medical staff and volunteers, were on the scene within hours and days of the disaster, demonstrating that IRCS is a nation-wide emergency rescue and relief organization. Temporary shelter, food and non-food items, emergency water and medical services such as evacuations, first aid and psychosocial support were part of the support the IRCS gave to those in need.
At the request of the IRCS, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (International Federation) issued a Preliminary Appeal on 26 December 2003, to be followed by a Revised Appeal on 8 January 2005, in order to provide emergency relief to the quake victims. The International Federation's disaster response teams including the Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT) and the Emergency Response Units (ERUs) worked closely with the IRCS, providing essential relief assistance to quake victims.
Linking relief with rehabilitation and reconstruction was planned from the very beginning of the operation. The assessment of the rehabilitation and reconstruction needs was done in January 2004 by the International Federation/IRCS Recovery Advisory Team. As of the end of April 2004, attention began to focus primarily on rehabilitation and reconstruction requirements. In line with the Revised Emergency Appeal and the Plan of Action of September 2004 and with the multilateral resources mobilized for the rehabilitation programme, the International Federation became involved in the construction of nine schools, one Urban Health Centre and one Road Rescue Base. Several other reconstruction projects were implemented by some donor National Societies through bilateral cooperation with the host National Society. The International Federation's recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction programme was completed by the end of February 2007.
In accordance with the recommendations made by the Operations Review of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement response to the Bam earthquake made in February-March 2004, the International Federation also supported the projects aimed at enhancing IRCS' capacity in disaster management (DM).
The Final Evaluation of the Bam Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Programme conducted in November 2006 concluded that this programme had fulfilled its objectives and achieved the key expected results in the revised Plan of Action. This interim final report focuses on the activities undertaken in relation to the reconstruction of Bam and the capacity-building of the IRCS as the final reports on the emergency relief operation and the stock replenishment have already been issued.
The International Federation highly appreciates the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, governments, institutions and individuals that had rendered their generous support to the Federation's Bam earthquake operation, thus enabling it to meet a wide range of needs of the earthquake victims and improve the IRCS' performance in DM.
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
In Iran: Seyed Hadi Samaei, Director General of International Affairs Department, Iranian Red Crescent Society, Tehran; email: intdep@rcs.ir; mobile: 98. 912 384 7050; phone: 98.21.88662618-19; fax: 98 .21.88662652
In Iran: Chang Hun Choe, Federation Representative, Tehran; email: ch.choe@ifrc.org; mobile: 98 .912 2172507; phone: 98.21.88672424-28; fax: 98.21.88672429
In Geneva: Evgeni Parfenov, Regional Officer, MENA Department, Geneva; email: evgeni.parfenov@ifrc.org; phone: 41.22.730 4325; fax: 41.22.733 0395
All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.
For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org.
Note:
(1) In the attached financial report, the budget in the amount of CHF 31,784,190 does not cover cash and in kind bilateral contributions.