Iran: Earthquake in the Qazvin/Hamadan and Zanjan regions Appeal No. 17/02 operations update No. 3

This Ops Update is intended for reporting on emergency appeals.
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Launched on 25 June 2002 for CHF 3,044,000 for 4 months for 25,000 beneficiaries. The appeal was extended for 5 months, until 31 March 2003 and hereby further extended until 31 July 2003

Period covered: 01 November 2002 - 28 February 2003 ; Last Update: Operations update number 02, issued 06 November 2002; Next Update: 04 expected in June 2003

IN BRIEF

Appeal coverage: 77%

Outstanding needs: CHF 811,895

The emergency phase of the operation has been completed within the first month, with the Government and Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) carrying out search and rescue, and the National Society distributing food and non-food items to 25,000 affected people. During that period, IRCS also organized temporary shelter for 5,000 families. In the second phase of the operation, while the relief assistance to people still living in temporary accommodation continues, rehabilitation plans have been elaborated and original objectives refined. Recent priority has been given to provision of basic medical and relief supplies in the affected region, replenishing the IRCS stocks and enhanced their disaster preparedness (DP) capacity in the region.

The appeal is hereby being extended until 31 July 2003, in order to allow sufficient time for quality completion of the capacity building projects, which have been slowed by the winter and a careful evaluation of the implementation priorities related to the support from various donors.

Operational Developments

On 22 June, the regions of Qazvin, Hamadan and Zanjan, west and north-west of the capital Tehran, were struck by a powerful earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale. This was followed by a series of aftershocks. The disaster left approximately 25,000 people homeless (5,000 families), over 200 villages damaged, 2,000 hectares of agricultural land destroyed, electricity and water supply systems broken down.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), in close cooperation with the government, immediately responded to the disaster. It organized search and rescue, provided temporary shelter to the 5,000 homeless families and distributed over 100 tons of food, as well as nonfood items such as blankets, tents, plastic sheeting, kitchen utensils, hygiene products and clothing.

The emergency phase was completed within the first months of the operation, and the focus shifted from relief to rehabilitation. In recent months, the authorities have been engaged in repair and reconstruction of housing and infrastructure, in order to secure permanent housing for the remaining homeless families. IRCS and the Federation have elaborated plans for the rehabilitation phase, focusing on water and sanitation, health and disaster response capacity building of the provincial branches. The emergency appeal will be extended until the end of July 2003, due to the climate and in order for the projects to be completed with a high degree of quality.

Coordination

The IRCS has a long-standing cooperation with the government, as well as a mandate to provide emergency relief and shelter assistance to one percent of the population of Iran. In this operation, all activities have been closely co-ordinated with the relevant governmental agencies. In addition, IRCS worked in close collaboration with WFP in provision of food to the people living in temporary accommodation.

Red Cross and Red Crescent action

In the second phase of the operation, IRCS and the Federation gave priority to rehabilitation of water and sanitation systems, construction of local health posts, and provision of basic medical supplies and relief items in the operational area. In view of the changed focus of the operation, original objectives of the preliminary emergency appeal have been slightly modified to reflect a change in needs and priorities in this second phase. In recent months, during the transition from relief to rehabilitation, IRCS relief workers and volunteers have continued providing shelter and relief support to the affected population, however to a lesser degree than in the first 4 weeks following the earthquake. Activities are being coordinated through provincial IRCS branches with support from the Tehran headquarters.

Objectives, activities and results

Health and care

Objective 1: To provide immediate assistance to injured people and prevent the outbreak of diseases among the affected population, through provision of medicines and supplies to support and assist the medical infrastructure.

Following the initial provision of emergency health assistance through IRCS mobile clinics in the first month of the operation, most of the primary health care services have been taken over by the Ministry of Health through local health posts. In Hamadan, however, IRCS branch has provided ambulance service and basic medicines to the population.

The National Society's psychological support teams have provided ongoing assistance to the vulnerable, especially focusing on children. The teams are composed of professionals and trained volunteers.

With support from DFID through the British Red Cross, IRCS carried out procurement of basic medicines and medical supplies that have been distributed to the local branches in the affected area. In addition, an Australian Government donation of CHF 420,000 is used to strengthen the capacity within relief and rescue, including medical supply for the local branches in the three provinces. Support from OPEC has been used to provide relief items to allow an increased disaster preparedness capacity.

Objective 2: To improve people's access to water and sanitation in the affected area.

Following the emergency phase of the operation, IRCS handed over the responsibility for drinking water distribution to local authorities, which are currently reconstructing permanent water supply systems in affected villages.

With support from ECHO, the Federation and IRCS have been implementing a project aimed to set up 50 mobile shower units and construction of 10 fixed public baths in the affected villages, covering approximately the population of 30,000. The preparation for the construction work was done, and service contracts with suppliers and manufacturers were concluded as early as in October 2002. The project was expected to be completed by the end of 2002. However, due to the climate and severe weather conditions during the winter months the progress was limited. Completion of the project is expected in April 2003.

Disaster response and preparedness

Objective 1: To assist the affected population with immediate relief needs.

Since the disaster, IRCS has organized temporary accommodation for 25,000 homeless people (5,000 families) in tents, and provided them with basic relief items, such as family food rations, plastic sheeting, blankets, kitchen utensils and other essential items. Maintenance of camp sites and relief assistance, to include distribution of winter kits, will continue until permanent housing of the remaining homeless population is completed. The authorities planned to finalize the remaining construction works by early December, however these plans were hampered by severe weather.

Objective 2: To increase the disaster response capacity of IRCS branches in operational areas.

In response to the disaster, IRCS mobilized most of its capacity in the region, including volunteers, mobile health clinics, its fleet, as well as food and nonfood relief stocks. In view of high susceptibility of those regions to natural disasters, especially earthquakes, the operational capacity of IRCS branches in Qazvin, Zanjan and Hamadan needs to be restored and enhanced further. As an indicator of the vulnerability of the region, between 25 and 27 October five earthquakes struck various provinces of Iran, of which one affected Qazvin, with a magnitude of 3.5 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes occur frequently throughout the country, and National Society branches ought to have high level of preparedness at any time. In support to those efforts, the donations of USAID and OPEC are being used to procure basic relief items and equipment for the three provincial branches, in order to replenish their depleted disaster preparedness stock.

National Society Capacity Building

The IRCS is well known for its strong disaster response capacity and a clear mandate given by the Government. The National Society's relief centers, disaster preparedness stocks and well trained volunteers base have been put in action in this relief operation. In order to assist IRCS in maintaining and enhancing their response capacity, the activities, as part of this appeal, have been reviewed to combine response to emergency needs of the population with a longer-term view to disaster response in the region. In that respect, and in addition to the above-mentioned activities, permanent health relief posts will be built to ensure long-term support to the population.

Federation Delegation

The Federation has been providing the National Society with technical support in the form of a water and sanitation consultant and a relief delegate, who are responsible for sharing technical expertise in the project implementation and support in the monitoring process. In addition, a reporting delegate has been recruited to train the National Society on the Federation and donor specific reporting requirements, as well as project planning and monitoring tools.

Advocacy/Public Information

Since the disaster struck, IRCS and the Federation have been sharing regular information on the impact of the earthquake, efforts of the National Society to assist the affected population and needs for external support. This has been done through news stories posted on IRCS and Federation's web sites, operations updates such as this one, as well as direct contacts with partner National Societies and potential donors. Those efforts have resulted in a positive response to the emergency appeal and its high level of coverage. Additional activities aimed at raising the visibility of the IRCS and Federation's operation will continue, giving special credit to partners who contributed to its successful implementation.

Outstanding needs

The appeal is being extended to allow sufficient time for the completion of the rehabilitation activities. All additional support should be focused on enhancing IRCS disaster response capacity.

For further details please contact: Ole Guldahl, Head of Delegation Iran . Phone : 00989112264015, Fax:0098218849079, email:ifrcir05@ ifrc. org

All International Federation Operations seek to adhere to the Code of Conduct and are committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (SPHERE Project) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

This operation seeks to administer to the immediate requirements of the victims of this disaster. Subsequent operations to promote sustainable development or longer-term capacity building will require additional support, and these programmes are outlined on the Federation's website.

For further information concerning Federation operations in this or other countries, please access the Federation website at http://www.ifrc.org.

John Horekens
Director
External Relations

Dr Ali Said Ali
Head
MENA Department

Annex 1