OCHA Situation Report No. 32
Pakistan - Earthquake
13 January 2006


Winter is testing the capacity of the humanitarian community. The 
reaction to very bad weather conditions in the first days of January was 
generally good, but unexpected snow below 5,000 ft. created serious 
problems. The response included the prompt distribution of food, tents 
and blankets. Mortality levels did not increase as a result of this 
situation but respiratory infections did as temperature dropped. The 
priorities of the humanitarian community remain: (i) Winterized tents; 
(ii) Iron sheets where needed; (iii) Heating in family or communal 
tents.

SITUATION OVERVIEW:

The first significant snow and rainfalls of the year came in at the 
beginning of January. There were widespread reports of tent collapses 
under snowfall, for both the earthquake-affected population and relief 
organisations. OCHA is coordinating multi-cluster rapid response 
activities at the Hub-level to mitigate any further effects while the 
winterisation programme continues. According to the Pakistan 
Meteorological Department, earthquake-hit areas are likely to be 
affected by another active westerly weather system. This system is 
likely to cause moderate and at times heavy snowfall between 14 and 19 
January.

The transition process from shelter to housing has begun with a Housing 
Taskforce headed by UN-HABITAT being formed and now holding joint 
coordination meetings with the Emergency Shelter cluster and FRC. All 
Emergency Shelter Cluster meetings in Islamabad are now either joint 
meetings with the camp management or housing/early recovery clusters.

The key populations of concern are vulnerable families and those 
populations who have been displaced and who are in settlements of less 
than 50 tents. The total number of displaced persons, as opposed to 
those who are either landless or 'making do' within their areas of 
origin, is not known. A registration exercise by local civil authorities 
is currently underway.

According to the Shelter Cluster, a National Disaster Management Agency 
is to be set up to provide an institutional response to an emergency, 
whenever one arises. Key hazards remain aftershocks, land slippage, 
subsidence, and flash flooding in the summer and following winters for 
populations who remain in temporary shelters.

Mountain Rapid Assessment Teams (Quake-Jumpers & M-RATs) are now 
coordinated through OCHA, with the support of NRC.

The number of acute respiratory infection (ARI) cases is still the 
highest among reported diseases.  The pattern of a steady increase in 
ARI reflects the combined effects of cold weather and the lack of 
adequate shelter. Between 10 December 2005 and 6 January 2006, a total 
of 290,063 health events under surveillance were reported, of which 20% 
(58,865) were reported as acute respiratory infection (ARI), 6% (16,989) 
were acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) and 5% (16,018) as injuries (INJ). In 
the same period, there were 42 reported deaths; of them 40% were 
ARI-related, 10% injury-related and 2% were AWD-related deaths.

Logistics reports that IOM is receiving DFID donation of 176,000 
blankets, 125,000 tarpaulins, 120,000 ropes and 6000 shelter kits 
(consisting of 8 pcs of CGI sheeting and 2 blankets) which will be 
dispatched to Bagh, Batagram, Balakot, Muzaffarabad and Mansehra in the 
coming days.

The Pakistan Military has provided an outline on the required procedures 
to ensure that helicopters do not cross the border and the line of 
control. Logistics cluster reports that 2 additional MI-8 are scheduled 
to arrive shortly - which will bring the total number of MI8s to 16.

The US Military received 150 slings yesterday, which will be moved to 
Muzaffarabad. The US Military has requested additional sites for 
sling-loads. According to UNHAS, 2 US Chinooks will be operating out of 
Abbotabad and 2 out of Muzaffarabad. UNHAS will receive 50 nets from the 
American Military today, which will facilitate sling loads out of 
Chattarplan, Abbotabad and Bagh.

The Muzaffarabad hub reports an apparent disconnect between field 
clusters and the counter-part cluster in Islamabad. Attention on 
jurisdictions / expectations of each and inter-cluster communication is 
required. Muzaffarabad also reports that large international NGOs have 
become increasingly outspoken about their dissatisfaction with the 
cluster format and have described that they find little opportunity to 
discuss policy orientated or cross-cluster questions within the 
individual cluster.

The cluster leads in the Bagh Hub identified the following for better 
coordination: definition of TORs for cluster heads, provide protocols 
for cluster leads and copies of inter-agency agreements, provide cluster 
specific HIC products, increase office staff (currently limited due to 
base camp space constraints), improved PakMil participation in cluster 
meetings, provide clear Islamabad guidelines on interim and 
reconstruction phase.

There is a pressing need in the camps for hot water for bathing. UNICEF 
has agreed to support this requirement and is currently field-testing 
two prototypes for heating water. ACF is planning to construct 12 
communal baths in the Balakot area.

A number of Cluster members emphasized the huge need for rehabilitation 
of water supply schemes in rural areas. With this in mind, UNICEF this 
week seconded a highly qualified engineer to ERRA as the Water Supply 
and Sanitation Coordinator. A 3-month work plan has been prepared and a 
presentation will be made next week to the Water and Sanitation Cluster.

In Mansehra, the District Rehabilitation Plan was launched and the 
humanitarian community encouraged to interact more with elected civilian 
authorities.

The distribution of warm clothes and shoes for vulnerable groups in Bagh 
is ongoing. Urgently needed are warm boots and shoes for children. The 
registration of vulnerable groups in Bagh district continues. SC-UK sets 
up additional child-friendly spaces in camps.

CLUSTER UPDATES

EMERGENCY SHELTER CLUSTER

1. The key populations of concern are vulnerable families and those 
populations who have been displaced and are in a settlement of less than 
50 tents. They currently remain outside of the mandate of the camp 
management cluster.

2. The key needs for tents have now been served. The current policy is 
for the upgrade (with plastic sheeting, rope and appropriate clothing / 
bedding) of existing tents rather than for whole scale distribution.

3. With high altitude areas almost covered, Bagh shelter activities 
focus on medium and low altitude areas. Shelter partners agreed to 
conduct a joint verification, supported by radio messages. According to 
PakMil, approximately 400,000 CGI sheets were distributed. In addition, 
large numbers of winterized kits were distributed. A PakMil survey shows 
that 40 to 50% of non-winterized tents collapsed during last week's snow 
and rain emergency. Bagh District is in great need of winterized tents.

LOGISTICS CLUSTER

1. There is a lack of pipeline information at the field level. This is 
making it difficult for UNJLC to obtain information for reporting on the 
pipeline.

2. Currently, three German Stallions are operating for UNHAS. One of 
these will leave on 15 January. UNHAS has recently seen a small but 
significant upturn in requests for NFI cargo transport.

3. UNHAS has received 20 nets (2.5mt) on 4 January and an additional 50 
nets (5 mt) will be available as of 5 January.

4. A DFID in-kind donation will secure the air operation with 4 MI8s 
until 3 May.

5. IOM is providing a free bus service that operates 10 buses daily from 
Balakot, Gari Habibullah, Basian, Boie and onto Brarkot on the 
NWFP/Pakistan-administered Kashmir border. More than 3,000 people per 
day have used the service for short trips to town and back for food, 
medical and personal needs.

6. The aggressive manner in which passengers approached the helicopter 
pilots has exposed the need for a policy on what to do with unauthorised 
passengers.

7. There were 4 reported incidents where WFP / UNHAS helicopters were 
compelled to take on passengers that were not manifested.  The pilots 
were at least uncomfortable if not aggressed by these people.  Upon 
investigation, it appears that a change in policy about who can and who 
cannot, when and when not travel on UNHAS flights has not been 
effectively communicated. Nonetheless, the incidents exposed a need for 
a protocol for pilots on what to do in such circumstances.

HEALTH CLUSTER

1. UNFPA informed the cluster that their first prefab/rural health 
centre will be in place on 10 January in Shohol Najaf Khan in Mansehra. 
Four of the prefab-BHUs that WHO is planning to erect before the end of 
January are already in place in Balakot. The structures are currently 
produced in Ghari Habibullah in Balakot.

2. The weekly disease pattern in Bagh indicates that the proportion of 
bloody and water diarrhoea cases is becoming stable.  The number of 
cases has been increasing consistently over the previous three weeks.

3. In Bagh, six cases of suspected hepatitis were reported this week. 
WHO is coordinating public health measures with NGOs and other UN 
agencies for provision of clean water and other activities.

4. Thirty-five water samples were taken from Lariyan in Bagh Tehsil in 
response to the 16 suspected acute jaundice syndrome cases in this area. 
The samples have been sent to the National Institute for Health in 
Islamabad and results are pending.

5. In Batagram, two cases of clinical measles were found in Landian 
Village.  The team however examined vaccination coverage and found that 
a recent immunization campaign had a coverage of over 95%.

6. The local Government Rural Development Department in Muzaffarabad has 
agreed to conduct a rapid technical assessment focusing on health 
facilities of 50 villages in Muzaffarabad District with the support of 
WHO.

7. One third of consultations for mental health were of individuals 
suffering from depression. Another third were cases of either anxiety or 
acute stress reaction.  The ratio of females to males is almost equal. 
It is worth noting that between 13% to 20% of these cases were children, 
except in Balakot and Batagram where children comprised 28% and 21% of 
consultations, respectively.  Mental health service provision up to 24 
December 2005 is detailed in Table 1 below.

8. In Balakot, approximately 500 consultations were reported this week 
with the main causes of consultation reported to be anxiety, depression 
and phobias.  About 22 cases were referred to Peshawar for psychiatric 
admission.

9. There is concern in Muzaffarabad that there is no isolation location 
of any sort in any of the hospitals.  Measles is a very serious disease 
in the context of displaced populations, especially when hygiene 
standards are not high.  Therefore, the WHO representative is in 
discussions with the Directors of local hospitals. The PakMil will erect 
a Chinese winterized tent to serve at their own military hospital 
location as an isolation location if and when required.

10. Mansehra reports that the Dara Camp is underserved, especially in 
terms of water and sanitation, essential drugs and Primary Health Care 
services.

EDUCATION CLUSTER

1. 818 of 5,000 tents locally procured by UNICEF have been delivered. 
In Mansehra, 377 tents were provided to UNICEF partners to establish 
tent schools for a target population of 15,080 children.

2. Supplementary reading materials for pre-primary through Class 6 are 
arriving in Islamabad.  They will be packed into sets and delivered to 
UNICEF's implementing partners.

3. The heavy snow and rainfall have disrupted distribution of supply. 
However, schools remain closed until 16 January due to winter holiday.

4. 250 schools have been covered in Bagh for the School Assessment 
initiated by the Department of Education and UNICEF with support from 
Sungi.

WATER AND SANITATION

1. Muzaffarabad reports that UNICEF have distributed 8,247 hygiene kits, 
1,519 jerry cans and 585 buckets and 1,345 sanitary latrine slabs in 15 
villages in Muzaffarabad and other high altitude areas.

2. UNICEF has also put in 75 garbage drums and 437 bins in 2 of the 
largest camps around Muzaffarabad.

3. In Mansehra, a Swedish Red Cross water treatment plant is supplying 
Balakot city through water trucking. To increase the water delivery it 
will be preferable to restore and rehabilitate reliable water sources to 
expand the capacity of the water treatment plant. Such rehabilitation 
work will have to await the redesign of the Balakot City (possible 
another six months) as well as the details of population settlements 
made available by the Government.

4. The recent rains in Mansehra have contaminated water sources and 
extra attention should be paid to water testing as no water testing has 
taken place outside established camps. Due to sustainability issues not 
all community water supplies can be treated.

5. Following the bad weather in Bagh, Oxfam conducted a WatSan Bagh town 
assessment and repaired 25 damaged latrines. Latrines need CGI sheets to 
protect them from future snow loads. In cooperation with WatSan 
partners, UNICEF reviewed the material needs as part of contingency 
planning. UNICEF will have 50 sets of hygiene materials ready within a 
week and capacity will be enhanced through training events.

PROTECTION

1. According to the cluster reports, the Pakistani Army expect 120,000- 
200,000 people to come down from the villages to the camps in the coming 
weeks. UNICEF Protection will focus on the following steps:

- Camps (priority)

a. Monitoring and support of the vulnerable population

b. Awareness raising (empowerment of the vulnerable, capacity building 
of local NGOs, authorities etc.)

c. Mainstreaming protection in all humanitarian efforts and among the 
clusters

d. Children Friendly Spaces (also with an increased focus on the 
adolescent children to prevent the formation of groups/gangs that easily 
lead to security problems)

- Villages

a. Assessment of the vulnerable groups, their needs and what can be done 
from the protection cluster

b. Establishment of a referral system

c. Awareness raising

CAMP MANAGEMENT

1. In Mansehra, Pakistani authorities and UNHCR are undertaking 
registration of people in camps of more than 50 tents. Registration will 
be conducted in 57 camps: 39 spontaneous, 12 army-administered, 3 RRC 
administered and 1 DCO administered camp. The collected data will be fed 
into a database, which the authorities and UNHCR will maintain and 
up-date.

2. In a joint exercise in Bagh, PakMil, UNHCR and WFP relocated 220 
individuals from Behdi Union Council to Namanpura camp. UNICEF 
distributed warm clothes to children in camps and throughout the 
district. UNHCR has started the registration of people living in 25 
spontaneous camps. Preparations are made for the distribution of heating 
facilities in the spontaneous camps. Collapsed tents have been 
re-erected and blankets been distributed.

FOOD AND NUTRITION

1. WFP Bagh has started a major airlift operation to provide a total of 
496.99 MT to Behdi Union Council. So far, 117.43 MT have been airlifted 
to this remote, snow-covered high altitude area.

2. UNJLC presence is supporting the airlift operation in Bedhi. OCHA 
went up to Bedhi to monitor the distribution process. WFP also 
distributes one box (20 kg) of dates to each family in 25 spontaneous 
camps during Eid holidays. A total of 32 MT of dates will be 
distributed. The WFP distribution of food in the other Union Councils 
continues as planned.

3. WFP has adopted the following food strategy for the month of January 
in MZD district: Agreed beneficiary target is 455,919 people, which 
makes the total food requirement 6,429 tonnes. A standard food basket 
contains wheat flour, pulses, vegetable oil and salt. However, when an 
area is hit by snow, the subsequent deliveries will be attuned to the 
prospect that people may have little capacity to cook; therefore, the 
food basket will contain high-energy biscuits and dates.

WEATHER AND ACCESSIBILTY:

Muzaffarabad reported the weather to be cold in medium and high altitude 
areas, and although there was no snowfall during this reporting period, 
weather reports suggest that a storm is to be expected for this coming 
weekend.

Bagh reported conditions to be cold and overcast, with snow in medium 
and high altitude areas. The situation has stabilized after last week's 
weather emergency and the distribution of relief goods continues, 
focusing mostly on vulnerable groups in medium altitude areas and camp 
populations. A preparedness plan for snow emergencies has been 
finalized. A health emergency cell is established with the aim of 
monitoring the situation. The DHQ Bagh needs heaters, electricity, 
containers /prefabs, and human resources. No major population movements 
were reported with the exception of the airlifting of vulnerable people 
from Behdi Union Council to Namanpura camp.

There is concern in Mansehra regarding the preparedness of agencies and 
clusters to properly function in case snow should limit or hinder access 
to beneficiaries. Concerns were also raised regarding staff safety in 
case of the need for the extraction of stranded or injured staff.

The health cluster partners discussed the impact of the rains and the 
snow in the various affected areas. Besides, the delay in the delivery 
of acute relief items, the snow, and the rains have caused havoc in some 
areas. Flooding of some camps and the accumulated snow have caused the 
collapse of tented health facilities.

There were reports that many of the people taken from the mountains to 
Meira camp in Allai are now planning to return to their original 
villages, since the tents are not properly winterized.

UNFPA have distributed additional plastic sheets to winterize the tents 
in a camp in Mansehra. They have also provided one mobile service unit 
(MSU) in Muzaffarabad and five MSUs in Bagh with these extra sheets. The 
MSUs have been affected but are still providing services of maternal and 
child care (deliveries, abortion etc).

In Rawalakot, the outpatient departments, operation theatres, X-rays and 
laboratory tents of the Jordanian field hospitals and part of the Cuban 
field hospital in Banguin collapsed due to the heavy snow that fell. WHO 
team in Rawalakot assessed the damage and found that for a period of 2-3 
days until the snow is removed, a third of the service availability in 
terms of OPD services and referral for minor surgeries has been lost. 
WHO sent winterized tents, heaters, jerry cans and blankets from 
Islamabad to Rawalakot to cover some of the gaps.

After extensive consultations, the shelter cluster reports that in 
virtually all cases, tent collapse following the 1st January snows was 
due to improper tent erection and people not clearing falling snow from 
roofs. It is anticipated by most actors on the ground that people will 
learn from their mistakes and clear snow to prevent collapse in future 
heavy snow falls. However, response teams are being set up in 
coordination with OCHA, and concerns do remain for coping with future 
bad weather spells.

Flooding has occurred in sites where tents have been pitched in farmland 
(rice paddies). This is due to a mixture of poor soil conditions (high 
clay content), lack of drainage and tents not being raised. The most 
affected formal sites, including Medan camp in Battagram, have since had 
a drainage dug and beneficiaries have been offered relocation options by 
UNHCR in collaboration with the civil authorities. Response teams will 
also follow up on drainage-related issues as well as tent collapse 
issues.

According to the logistics bottleneck report, the Interagency warehouse 
at Chatterplain is inadequately prepared for the winter weather. Trucks 
have been getting stuck in the mud while unloading, blocking access to 
other vehicles and disrupting air services. The problem is also likely 
to occur elsewhere. Gravel should be laid and other winterisation 
procedures followed for all warehouses in locations prone to mud in 
order to prevent further such bottlenecks.

In Muzaffarabad, an Emergency Response Team has been established with a 
3-point plan to facilitate the emergency response to those adversely 
affected by the snowstorms. These are: (1) an active weather watch; (2) 
identifying organizations with extra capacity and ready to move when a 
snowstorm subsides and; (3) establishing an Emergency Cell, with 
assigned physical space, maps, phones etc and staffed by 4 
representatives (IOM, CMO, MZD Municipal Govt, and Pak Mil) who will 
direct the response action immediately post snow fall.

Accessibility:

The majority of roads have reopened due to road clearing efforts and an 
improvement in the weather conditions. However, snow, ice and landslides 
are still slowing traffic along many routes. Snow chains are recommended 
for all road travel. Certain areas are now only accessible to 4WD 
vehicles. Daily road updates and corresponding maps are posted on the 
UNJLC website (www.unjlc.org).

After instances of vehicles and some aircraft getting stuck on the 
Abbottobad Helicopter Landing Zone due to lack of adequate 
winterisation, matters are in hand to make the helipad surfaces 
compatible with vehicles in winter weather conditions. However if this 
does not take place rapidly, UNHAS airlift operations could become 
severely restricted.

The use of surface transport is currently limited in the area of 
Batagram. IOM has requested assistance from UNHAS/UNJLC and the 
Pakistani military to move relief goods by air.

Bagh reports

- Bagh - Dhuli - Lasdanna - Muhammad Gali - Kahutta: closed / snow

- Bagh - Rawalakhot - Bandi Abbaspur: open for 4 x 4 with ice and snow

- Bagh - Bir Pani - Sudddiam Gali: open for trucks, snow and ice

- Suddiam Gali - Muzaffarabad: closed due to snow

- Suddiam Gali - Merar: closed due to landslides

- Bagh - Arja - Dhirkot - Islamabad: open for all traffic

- Bagh - Arja - Rawalakot - Islamabad: closed, for emergency exit use 
only

- 8. Bagh - Arja - Dahalkot - Rawalpinid - closed, for emergency exit 
use only

DSS has reopened the Leepa site.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. All detailed cluster information (meeting minutes, assessments, 
contact information etc.) is being posted on www.un.org.pk .

2. The latest information on projects and funding for the Flash Appeal, 
and for the emergency overall, can be found on the Financial Tracking 
Service 
(http://ocha.unog.ch/fts/reports/reportlist.asp?section=CE&record_ID=688).Further
  information on earthquake appeals and funding is available on ReliefWeb 
(http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc105?OpenForm&rc=3&emid=EQ-2005-000174-PAK).

3. Contact details of focal points for information on in-kind and cash 
contributions can be found at http://www.un.org.pk/earthquake05/ .

4. OCHA will revert with further information as it becomes available. 
This situation report, together with further information on ongoing 
emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at 
http://www.reliefweb.int.

Tel.:  +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers:
  Ms. Merete Johansson, direct Tel. +41-22-9171694
  Mr. Guido Galli, direct Tel. +41-22-9173171

Press contact:
  GVA - Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, direct Tel. +41-22-917 2653
  NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker, direct Tel. + 1-917 367 5126

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