Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Update on Earth quake relief in Pakistan


There are still 500.000 quake victims unreached. More than 49,739 are confirmed dead. 67,000 injured. Local officials estimate more than 79,000 deaths.
The region needs more tents than the whole world has. Govt asks for another 500,000 winterized tents.
two strong aftershocks (5.8 & 5.4 strength) have caused more landslides and panic. Aftershocks continue since the quake.
Relief efforts going on despite a relief helicopter crash killing six army men.
Two weeks from now, it will start snowing across the hilltops.

UN says that this earthquake 'is UN's worst nightmare'. "Here we've got over 15,000 villages spread out through the affected region. The affected areas are much larger in geographical size than the tsunami, and rather than being in flat coastal areas, we are operating in some of the highest mountains and deepest valleys in the world." (UN quoted by BBC)
UN has received only 5% of aid ($13 million) it requested ($272 million) from the world.

Tent type recommended by BBC:

  • Heavy duty tent designed for long-term use by a single family

  • PVC groundsheet sown onto the sides for windproofing and to retain warmth

  • Some types are designed to accomodate cooking stoves

  • ICRC estimates that 30,000 such tents are required in Pakistan

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Orphans
Weeks after the disaster, there are still 58 out of the 182 IR supported orphans in the earthquake zone that are unaccounted for.

In Bagh, 2 orphans are missing, while in Muzaffarabad, there are 21 orphans that IR staff have not been able to contact.

Of the 118 orphans in the badly-hit region of eastern Manshera, 35 children are still unaccounted for.

Most of the orphans in the earthquake zone have lost their homes.


Naeem Tyab