| The
Situation in Pakistan and India following the 2005 Earthquake
According to
CARE, more than 86,000 people have died and more than 3 million
left without homes from the massive earthquake that struck this
region on 8 October last year. Deteriorating weather hampered the
relief efforts and there are fears of a worse-than-usual Himalayan
winter. In early January a week of heavy rain and snowfall in northern
Pakistan created new landslides, leaving thousands of people stranded,
and causing some relief operations to be suspended.
However, intervals of improved weather have enabled CARE and Oxfam,
in cooperation with their partners, to continue delivering life-saving
supplies to earthquake survivors. The weather is expected to worsen
again, remaining a constant challenge to delivery of aid.
A further challenge
is villagers’ reluctance to leave their land and move to less
remote areas, despite dire conditions. Where CARE is working in
Pakistan’s remote Allai Valley, 90 per cent of the families
are tenants rather than land owners. They fear losing their usual
place of residence if they leave. Continuing to reach these remote
areas is difficult, but as James Kennedy, CARE’s Shelter Advisor,
has described, aid agencies have been successful so far.
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Children who have survived
the
earthquake remove snow from
their shelter in Drangyari, Kashmir.
REUTERS/ Fayaz Kabli, courtesy
www.alertnet.org |
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An earthquake survivor cleans snow from the front
of her
shelter in a devastated village in Kashmir.
REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic, courtesy www.alertnet.org.
A
young girl living in one of many thousands of emergency
tents. Oxfam is working to ensure that these tent camps
have clean water and sanitation plus the tents are ready
to withstand the coming winter.
Photo: Carlo Heathcote/Oxfam.
Oxfam
carpenters and masons dig a latrine pit at Thuripark
IDP camp. Behind them a finished Oxfam latrine is ready
for use. Photo: Carlo Heathcote/Oxfam.
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• CARE
is providing corrugated iron sheets needed for hard shell shelters
and construction materials to improve or weather proof temporary
or ad hoc shelters. These measures, plus 7500 tents, aim to ensure
that families can survive the winter and look forward to reconstruction
of their homes.
• CARE
have distributed thousands of tents, quilts, plastic mats, plastic
sheets, shawls, water bottles, hygiene kits, water sachets, blankets,
kitchen sets and cakes of soap. CARE also continue to distribute
warm clothing, water supplies, medical assistance and food.
•
In March 2006, CARE plan to begin the rehabilitation phase of their
response in Pakistan, which will include rebuilding infrastructure,
including roads, bridges, community centres and schools. CARE will
be working with survivors to improve access to education and health
services and help them regain their livelihoods.
• Oxfam
is assisting 345,000 people through provision of clean water and
sanitation, shelter for winter conditions and supporting people’s
livelihoods. Oxfam are working in 165 camps, providing water and
sanitation facilities, including water tanks, latrines, hygiene
kits, bathing cubicles and water buckets. In 52 of these camps,
Oxfam has repaired piped water systems, resulting in water being
provided to almost 40,000 people. To ensure best use is made of
this water, Oxfam has also provided some 25,000 buckets and 48,000
bars of soap. Outside the camps, we have been supporting rural populations
through our water-trucking activities, delivering 174,000 litres
of clean water per day.
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