Initial Assessment of the Disaster
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 and 15 km depth struck Harnai district, Balochistan onth October 2021 at 3:02 am. As a result, 42 people died and 229 were reported injured and 409 houses were completely or partially damaged as per initial reports2 .
Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Balochistan reported that houses within a 15km radius of Harnai districts had been destroyed, public buildings including schools and hospitals are also badly affected and rescue teams of military and frontier corps (FC) are engaged in relief and rescue efforts.
PDMA has established Divisional Committee to lead the overall Rescue, Relief, and Rehabilitation while the subcommittee shall complete all the assessment of houses and government infrastructure.
A mmedical emergency has been declared at the District Headquarter Hospital Harnai and Civil Hospital Quetta where doctors and other paramedical staff have been recalled on an emergency basis. As of today, 712 Outdoor Patients [OPD] were treated in District headquarter hospital Harnai.
IRP Field Office Harnai is responding to the emergency in close coordination with PDMA and District Administration (DC Office/DDMA, DHQ Hospital Harnai). The IRP team managed to rescue 2 injured women by shifting them to the hospital. Moreover, the IR team made arrangements for clean arranged drinking water for the affected people at the hospital right after the incident.
A.1. Background:
Harnai is the principal town and headquarter of this district, has two Tehsils Shahrag & Harnai.
According to the census of 2017 Harnai has a population of 97052, covers area of 2,492 km²,
Population Density according to [2017] census 38.95/km² and 1.3% Annual Population Change [1998 → 2017]. The predominant first language is Pashto with 80% while Baloch accounted for 20%. The town is quite close to Loralai, Ziarat, Sibi, & Quetta. It is surrounded by imposing hills on all sides. The encircling hill ranges have the resounding names of 'Khalifat' & 'Zarghun. As per district government administration, 35,363 people in 2 Tehsils, 6 Union Councils, and 25 villages are affected among those Municipal Committee Harnai, UC Saddar –I, and UC Saddar-II are severely affected areas in Harnai district.
Electricity Supply has been suspended in Harnai which has created difficulty in the rescue operation and Harnai to Sanjavi Road near Panch Mal River is also blocked due to land sliding Levies and other departments are trying to clear the road.
All Schools are closed in District Harnai by District Government till further order from the district government, most of the public buildings including schools and hospitals have been damaged in three severely affected areas including Municipal Committee Harnai, UC Saddar –I, and UC Saddar-II.
A medical emergency has been declared at the District Headquarter Hospital Harnai and Civil Hospital Quetta where doctors and other paramedical staff have been recalled, seriously injured persons are sent to District Headquarter Quetta through Helicopter & Ambulances for treatment.
Although there are no formal movements from of affected population to any specific area, most of the affected population houses are partially or fully damaged and they are staying near their villages and town and waiting for temporary shelters from the government and other stakeholders.