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| December 6, 2005 | Tuesday | Ziqa’ad 3, 1426 |
UNHCR braces for exodus of mountain-dwellers who survived South Asia quake GENEVA, Dec 6 (AFP) The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday said it was standing by for an exodus of mountain-dwellers who survived the South Asian earthquake but are facing increasingly bitter winter weather. Jennifer Pagonis, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that with more heavy snowfalls forecast by the end of this week, Pakistan's government estimates that between 100,000 and 200,000 people could head down to lower-lying areas in the country's North West Frontier Province and 30,000 in Azad Kashmir. Aid efforts are now focusing on the 3.5 million people left homeless, many living in tents not designed for freezing conditions or stuck in isolated areas that are hard for aid agencies to reach. Pagonis said the UNHCR's top priority is "winterising" tents in camps, providing survivors with three blankets each, plus extra mattresses and plastic sheeting, as well as stoves and fuel.(Posted @ 20:56 PST)
New lakes in Pakistani quake zone endanger thousands ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (Reuters) The collapse of a mountainside triggered by the deadly Oct. 8 earthquake in Azad Kashmir blocked two major streams creating huge lakes that could endanger up to 12,000 people, the military said on Tuesday. Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said a few hundred people might have been buried in the collapse of the mountainside near the town of Hattian Bala, 45 km southeast of Muzaffarabad, and there was no chance they could have survived. He said two streams had been blocked flowing out of Jhelum River near the town, which has a population of up to 12,000 people, creating lakes 80 feet and 50 feet deep. Sultan said huge crevices and cracks had appeared in the mountain that were widening by the day and further landslides could breach the sides of the lakes. Sultan said geologists, seismologists and other experts were assessing the situation but there were currently no plans to evacuate the area. "At this moment, the government does have a lot of time available. We are immediately into some kind of disaster management so that another disaster out of these lakes does not occur," he said.(Posted @ 20:02 PST)
UNICEF fears increased child labour in quake area PATTIKA, Azad Kashmir, Dec 6 (Reuters) The U.N. children's agency is worried child survivors of Pakistan's earthquake have to look for work to support their families. Most schools in the region were destroyed in the quake; some schools have reopened but most children still have no classes to go to. "It is a concern for us and we are trying to assess the situation," Zafrin Chowdhury, a spokeswoman for the agency in Muzaffarabad, said. "A lot of children are moving out of Muzaffarabad and have started to work as domestic servants," an official from the Astafada children's rights welfare organisation, said. "They have nothing else to do," another official added. "Children need their routine and normalcy back in their lives," said UNICEF education officer Ellen van Kalmthout. "It would be very difficult for them to catch up if they stay away too long."(Posted @ 16:25 PST)
UN food agency to feed 1.3 million quake survivors through winter ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP): The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) can guarantee winter food supplies for hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors in remote high-altitude villages, but continuing donor support is vital for one of the most challenging logistical operations the agency has ever faced. Over the weekend WFP and the Pakistan Government agreed that the agency should take on responsibility for providing emergency food to 400,000 people who can only be reached by air, double the previous target figure of 200,000, UN News service reported. "With better information and more surveys, we now believe that up to 400,000 people can be reached only by air in high villages where access roads are blocked by landslides or will be covered with too much snow to pass in a few weeks," WFP Executive Director James Morris said. "To help the people in areas only accessible by air, we will have to fly in 6,000 tons of food a month. Our helicopters will be more vital than ever and sustained donor support will be absolutely essential," he added. In addition to the people reachable only by air, WFP has also accepted responsibility for 600,000 people who can be reached by land - including 250,000 living in camps - as well as 150,000 children in tented schools and a further 150,000 children under five and nursing and pregnant mothers who will receive supplementary feeding. In addition to the 1.3 million people aided by WFP, the Government will provide assistance to 3 million people and ICRC will help 150,000 others. WFP has to date distributed about 21,000 tons of food to 1 million people in Azad Kashmir and North West Frontier Province. "Winter has arrived. Our air operations, on which much of the humanitarian community relies, will face increasing disruptions because of poor visibility," Morris warned. Out of a total of the $182 million required for emergency operations including support for the air shipment of various relief supplies, WFP is still seeking nearly $115 million. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Quake victims receive aid by road as weather improves ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP): Earthquake victims received relief aid by road as weather improved and trucks resumed operations in the Jhelum and Neelum valleys, Bloomberg TV reported. "We have a great road system set up now," Hugh Smith, the IOM's field coordinator in the region, said. "Even if we have bad weather, we'll still be able to ship 50 percent of our material by road. Bad weather can slow us down, but it won't shut us down," he added. The IOM and international aid agencies last week began a survey of villages lying 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above sea level to ensure people have shelter and supplies of food for winter, the organization said. An estimated 250,000 people are moving from towns and villages in the mountains to relief camps set up at lower levels to escape winter, which starts in the region in November and ends in March, the UN said. "More population movements are anticipated, more challenges will be faced for the delivery of assistance, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. About 410,000 tents have been distributed and 300,000 children have been vaccinated, OCHA said. NATO's operation carrying 2,000 metric tons of relief goods was the largest single contribution to the international airlift. (Posted @ 10:33 PST)
From disaster relief to fighting poverty, UN lauds contribution of volunteers UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 6 (APP) The United Nations Monday observed International Volunteer Day by paying tributes, in the words of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to the invaluable contributions" of volunteers in facing challenges across the globe from natural disasters to silent crises such as poverty and disease. "From the flooded streets of New Orleans to the flattened villages in Pakistan, ordinary people have risen to extraordinary challenges," Mr. Annan said in a message, referring to just two of this year's calamities - Hurricane Katrina' assault on the United States' Gulf coast and the earthquake in Pakistan. "They have volunteered their time, energy and skills to save lives and to rebuild communities. Through their service, they have shown us the very best of humanity." (Posted @ 10:32 PST)
Delivery of relief goods to quake-hit areas continues LAHORE, Dec 6 (APP): Another consignment of 124 truckloads of relief goods for quake victims was despatched on Monday to Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Rawalakot, Mansehra and Islamabad, taking the total number of trucks sent by Punjab government to 10,284.Monday’s consignment included 63 truck-loads of tents and 38 trucks containing blankets. (Posted @ 10:31 PST)
PM appreciates contribution of Aga Khan Development network ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday lauded the contribution of Aga Khan Development Network in the country's socio-economic uplift and its support in the relief and rehabilitation efforts to help the people devastated by October 8 earthquake. He was speaking at a banquet he hosted in honour of Prince Karim Aga Khan, spiritual head of the Ismaili community. The two leaders earlier held one-on-one meeting and werelater joined by their respective delegations and particularly discussed ongoing activities of Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Pakistan. Under a new initiative, the AKDN will provide over 300 million dollars for the University of Arts and Sciences in the Education City in Karachi, for which the Sindh government under the directive of the Prime Minister, has provided 1000 acre of land. (Posted @ 10:31 PST)
Three primary healthcare units to be set up in Muzaffarabad BEIJING, Dec. 6 (APP): Singapore will help set up three primary healthcare units in Muzaffarabad, reports Chinese media. Each unit (cost about $200,000) would treat about 500 people. Meanwhile, Mercy Relief, a local humanitarian organization, plans to provide children in the disaster-stricken areas in Pakistan with some 20,000 play packs in January next year, the report said. Singapore has so far sent five teams of 48 volunteers, including doctors, nurses and logisticians to Muzaffarabad for relief work in quake devastated areas. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
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