Action by Churches Together (ACT)
ACT Situation Report
Pakistan/India 01/06
Geneva, January 10, 2006


PAKISTAN

Information supplied by ACT member Church World Service 
(Pakistan/Afghanistan office)

General situation

Helicopters bringing relief supplies to earthquake zones in the 
mountainous areas were able to resume flights on January 4 after snow 
and rain grounded them for several days. Extreme winter weather has also 
been cutting off numerous roads. Along with survivors, the Pakistani 
army, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations 
and humanitarian-aid specialists are struggling against rain, snow and 
landslides in the mountainous areas. With harsher weather conditions and 
temperatures dropping to minus 15 to minus 20 degrees Celsius in the 
highest villages, the priority now is to provide the homeless with the 
means to protect themselves against the cold. The UN estimates that as 
many as 400,000 people are in higher areas where it is feared that snow 
and rain will make it harder for helicopters and trucks to reach them. 
While there has been no wet weather for several days, forecasters were 
warning of more cold that would add to the misery of the more than two 
million survivors living in tents or crude shelters.

Church World Service (CWS)-ACT response

Despite the heavy snowfall in the disaster zone, CWS-ACT has been making 
a steadfast effort to continue its relief activities.

In the Shohal Najaf tent camp, where CWS-ACT is working, another NGO has 
provided kerosene heaters, and the World Food Program has donated two 
large tarpaulins to cover the basic health unit and the warehouse in the 
camp. Residents of the camp have received stoves, but the army has 
stopped the distribution of kerosene. CWS teams are trying to put 
forward a workable proposal to the army for the distribution of 
kerosene.

The CWS psychosocial program team assessed the conditions in the camp 
after the recent cold spell and heavy downpour. The team met with the 
camp administrator to analyze the present situation and work out ways to 
solve the problems together. It was decided that the available stock of 
warm clothing will be distributed to residents and that two more 
blankets will be provided to each person in each family.

The newly recruited and trained psychosocial program staff has begun 
work at both the Shohal Najaf and Hassa tent villages in order to assist 
a greater number of people. The team met with families individually to 
hear their problems and stories.

The psychosocial team conducted a meeting with the male residents of the 
Shohal Najaf tent village, who said they appreciated the team's efforts 
team and shared their personal experiences faced during the earthquake 
with the team. The female psychosocial team continued to conduct 
meetings with women in the camps.

The CWS health and hygiene team reported that conditions around the 
latrines in Shohal Najaf camp have deteriorated significantly due to the 
heavy rain. The ground has become muddy and slippery, making it 
difficult to reach the latrines. There are also large puddles of water, 
and holes in the latrines are causing them to flood. Water is also 
seeping inside the tents, creating problems for the residents. The army 
has helped by shifting people to dryer areas. CWS and the army have 
decided together that slabs will be placed on the pathways leading to 
the latrines and bathroom. Furthermore, an outlet line will be 
constructed to allow the water to drain toward the rivers.

Meetings and visitors

On December 31, CWS Islamabad staff and emergency field office staff 
from Mansehra participated in the "Recovery Strategy Workshop" in 
Abbottabad. The participants reflected upon the activities of 2005 in 
the post-relief phase of the earthquake and outlined plans and 
strategies for the recovery needs of the affected families in 2006.

It was shared at the UN camp management cluster meeting in Islamabad 
that the World Health Organization and the health cluster have been 
asked to set up a health post within each planned camp in North West 
Frontier Province (NWFP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

According to the water and sanitation cluster update, 2,000 latrines 
will be built in NWFP, which will benefit 40,000 people. In AJK, 3,000 
latrines have been constructed by the villagers themselves with slabs 
provided to them.

The UN cluster partners in Mansehra have composed a group of volunteers 
to conduct an assessment visit in six villages of the Kala Dhaka tribe 
via helicopter. They plan to carry out distribution of shelter kits in 
the selected areas. CWS offered the services of four volunteers for this 
needs-based activity. It was further decided that the activity would 
commence once the weather has cleared.

The UN camp management cluster in Manshera has decided to conduct a 
joint registration of all camps starting this month. To enhance the 
technical capacity of the partners in terms of camp management, a 
two-day training course will be held January 23 to 24 in Mansehra.

The first UN mental health cluster meeting was held in Mansehra. CWS 
presented its psychosocial program activities, which were well received. 
Those present stressed the importance of establishing a close liaison 
between all partners for rapid recovery of the earthquake survivors.

The UN general cluster meeting was held in Mansehra at which CWS shared 
its planning for the recovery phase. OCHA management proposed posting 
the CWS-ACT planning framework on the Web as a guide and reference for 
other humanitarian organizations.

For regular updates from the Pakistan office of ACT member CWS, visit 
www.cwspa.org/earthquake.

Sources: Web sites of Geo TV, AAJ TV, Dawn, Reuters Television Network, 
Daily Time and the Nation; field reports of CWS needs-assessment team 
and Pakistan Humanitarian Forum meeting minutes.



INDIA

Information supplied by the Academy for Disaster Management Education, 
Planning and Training (ADEPT) (created by the National Lutheran Health & 
Medical Board, a unit of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
India, which holds ACT membership)

General situation

Like the mountainous areas of Pakistan hit by the earthquake, the 
Kashmir valley in India continues to reel under intense cold, with 
temperatures around - and often below - the freezing mark.

The roads to Karnah, Teetwal, Tangdhar and Keran have been closed for 
several days. Zojila, the highest point on the 434-km-long Leh highway, 
has received about five feet of snow. Zojila highway has been closed to 
civilian traffic since November 17.

The electricity supply around Dal Lake has been hit and was not restored 
even after four days in many towns in the Anantnag and Pulwama districts 
of south Kashmir, some parts of Budgam in central Kashmir, and the 
Baramulla and Kupwara districts of north Kashmir because of massive 
damage to the poles and wires.

Thousands of quake survivors in Uri and Tangdhar are thus facing new 
challenges. In many places, temporary shelters and tents have collapsed, 
and people have been forced to take shelter in community halls and 
government buildings.

The leading daily, Thr Hindu, quoted Khurshid Ahmed, a resident of Uri, 
as saying, "We couldn't sleep for the second straight night. Until 
midnight it was snowing heavily, and we took turns to remove the snow 
from our sheds to prevent them from collapsing." Another resident, 
Ghulam Khawja, said, "It is very cold out here. Even the firewood is 
wet, and there is a scarcity of kerosene."

Update from Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) on its response

In spite of the problems faced (remoteness and inaccessibility of area 
of response, insecurity, distribution barriers) CASA and its partners 
were able to complete the initial phase of its response (providing 
blankets, woolen clothing material, tarpaulins and utensil sets to 1,000 
families) by November, 24, 2005. The villages selected for assistance 
were among the most remote and vulnerable. CASA subsequently has had to 
almost completely halt its relief operations for the time being because 
of the snowfall that has started in the hills. Transportation is a 
problem, as some patches of road and villages become inaccessible due to 
landslides and snow.

Therefore, CASA has requested of the ACT Coordinating Office a time 
extension to its activities under the current appeal, resuming work at 
the latest by February and completing its project by April.

For further information, please contact:
ACT Communications Officer
  Callie Long (mobile/cell phone +41 79 358 3171)
ACT Information Officer
  Stephen Padre (mobile/cell phone +41 79 681 1868)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of 
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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