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In Brief
Appeal No. 05EA022; Operations Update no. 16; Period covered: 22-24 November 2005; Appeal coverage: 54.7%; (click here to go directly to the attached Contributions List, also available on the website).
Appeal history:
- Preliminary Emergency Appeal (launched as South Asia: Earthquake) on 9 October 2005 for CHF 10.8 million (USD 8.4 million or EUR 7 million) for four months to assist 30,000 families (some 120,000 beneficiaries).
- Operations Update No. 3 of 12 October 2005 increased the Preliminary Appeal budget to CHF 73,262,000 (USD 56,616,692 or EUR 47,053,307) to assist up to 150,000 families (some 750,000 beneficiaries) for six months, as an increasingly serious situation has unfolded.
- Operations Update, No. 5, revised down the number of targeted families to 70,000 (some 500,000 beneficiaries) based on the newly assessed delivery capacity and average family size of seven.
- Revised Emergency Appeal launched on 25 October 2005 for CHF 152 million (USD 117 million or EUR 98 million) to assist 81,000 families (some 570,000 beneficiaries) for six months.
- Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: CHF 200,000.
Outstanding needs: To date CHF 84 million has been received, of which CHF 42.5 is in cash and CHF 40.6 is in kind contributions. More pledges are in the pipeline and will be reflected in the next operations update. Additional pledges -- especially in cash -- are very urgently needed.
Related Emergency or Annual Appeals: Pakistan Annual Appeal 05AA049, South Asia Regional Annual Appeal 05AA051 Operational Summary:
In addition to the 17 camps set up by the Pakistan government and army, hundreds of "spontaneous settlements" have sprung up in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Official government policy is to try and consolidate the spontaneous settlements, but it is not yet clear how this will be achieved nor where the new camps will be.
Relief operations are still building and the Federation/Pakistan Red Crescent (PRCS) is providing what has been deemed to be a strong response, with good outreach to isolated, rural communities. However, the needs still remain daunting and time still remains a pressure. Relief goods including winterized tents, blankets, tarpaulins, jerry cans and sleeping bags continue to be distributed by land and air and have reached nearly 130,000 beneficiaries so far.
The Qatar Red Crescent (QRCS) field hospital has started operatio ns in Bagh, Pakistan administered Kashmir and treated 70 patients on its first day. Twice weekly mobile clinics are expected to begin soon in a new area, Lohar Bella. More than 43,000 people have received basic health care services from the Red Cross Red Crescent since operations began last month.
More communities have access to clean water produced by the two water and sanitation ERUs in Balakot and Batagram, with nearly 40,000 beneficiaries reached to date. In both towns Federation delegates are training local women on the dissemination of hygiene promotion in camps and villages.
Background
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale, centered 95 kilometres north-east of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, struck at 0350 GMT (0850 local time) on 8 October 2005, with tremors felt across the region from Kabul to Delhi. The quake has decimated northern Pakistan and northern India. In Pakistan alone, enormous numbers of people have been killed and injured. More than 3.5 million people have been made homeless. The immensity of the disaster is one of deadliest in the region in living memory.
Situation
While more than a dozen official tent camps have been established by the Pakistan government and army in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), literally hundreds of so called "spontaneous settlements" have also sprung up, ranging from those with a few families to those with several hundred families . Interagency efforts to map these settlements are ongoing. Four new camps have been created during the reporting period, including one at Havelian, south of the earthquake zone. Official government policy is to try and consolidate these settlements, but how this will be achieved, and where new camps will be created is not yet clear.
The major fear on the government's side, as well as on the part of many agencies , is the poor sanitation in the camps and, in particular in these "spontaneous settlements". The Pakistan military is openly asking aid agencies to provide technical advice and support to avoid accidents and the possible spread of disease.
Also unclear is the official position on unaccompanied children and single females -- it is reported that they may be taken to institutions in Islamabad. The reported removal of some orphans by the Ministry of Social Welfare and their subsequent disappearance from one camp, has been highlighted by Church World Services.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), lead agency for the shelter cluster in Pakistan, estimates that some 330,000 tents have been distributed in NWFP since the start of the operation. The official priority is now to seek out those families remaining above 5,000 feet and distribute shelter repair kits and corrugated iron sheet ing. The Pakistan government has stated at the recent donors' meeting that families have to have "ownership" of their shelter and has encouraged support to help families build their own shelter. Five engineering battalions are working in the Kagan and Allai valleys and have constructed approximately 500 temporary shelters. This approach seems to be effective as the local population appear willing to build temporary shelters if tools and materials are made available. Official estimates indicate there are around 250,000 family homes that will need to be reconstructed during the rehabilitation phase.
Attention is also turning much more to the issue of food security which is likely to be the next priority after emergency shelter. There is also an issue concerning the situation of local livestock. With homes and barns in ruins and winter at the doorstep, many mountain communities are slaughtering or selling the animals that survived the earthquake. Some families are fearful of not being able to keep their animals alive after the snows come. Milk production has fallen dramatically since the earthquake, partly because so many animals were killed, but also partly because many of the animals that survived have been neglected since the earthquake. According to agriculture and health officials, farm animals are vital for the health and economic well-being of the highland .
Map: Pakistan: Earthquake - Situation map - Issued 25 November 2005
Full report (pdf* format - 550 KB)