Pakistan Earthquake 2005

Covering the earthquake, the damage and the relief work in Pakistan.

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Archive for May, 2006

Kashmir Education Foundation to setup schools in earthquake hit areas

The Kashmir Education Foundation (KEF), which is already running three educational institutions in the country, has planned to set up two more schools and an institute of teacher’s education in Azad Kashmir and rest of the Pakistan within next two to three years.

Speaking at a press conference, KEF Chairman Maj Gen (retd) M Rahim Khan said that the foundation in 1996 had established two institutions i.e. Pearl Valley Public School (PVPS) and Institute of Teacher Education (ITE) in Rawlakot and Azad Kashmir, as pilot projects of the KEF.  Read more... (520 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

Ben Kingsley at Pakistani event for quake relief

Oscar-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley, who recently returned from the earthquake-hit areas of northern Pakistan, which he visited on behalf of Relief International, is to attend a fund-raiser organised by a group of Pakistani professionals in California on 3 June.

Kingsley, was accompanied to Pakistan by filmmaker Chip Duncan for the shooting of a short documentary highlighting the work done by Relief International and emphasising the need for an international effort stretched over a much longer period. Kingsley became famous as Mahatma Gandhi in the Richard Attenborough film ‘Gandhi’ released in 1982. It won eight Oscars. The event has been organised by the Organisation of Pakistani Entrepreneurs and Professionals (OPEN), a voluntary, non-profit group “dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship and professional excellence”.  Read more... (172 words, estimated 41 secs reading time)

100,000 quake survivors to live in camps till next winter: United Nations

At least 100,000 people left homeless after the devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan last year will have to live in camps till the next winter, Jan Vandemoortele, the United Nations resident coordinator, said on Monday.

Talking to reporters, Vandemoortele said there were several thousand homeless people who would have to live in the camps because their plots had been washed away or their native localities fell in a ‘red zone’ where the risks of further earthquakes are high.

The October 8, 2005 earthquake left 300,000 homeless, most of whom have started returning to their homes. “There will still be an estimated 100,000 people who will be living in the camps till the next winter,” he said.  Read more... (406 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Artificial lakes may flood Kashmir areas

The artificial lakes that shaped as a result of the devastating earthquake that hit Pakistan last year may sink the nearby areas as water level in these lakes is dangerously rising.

The Karli Lake, some 60km from Muzaffarabad and the other near Hattian Bala are a threat to over 50,000 people living in nearby villages including Hafiz Bandi, Bani Hafiz, Sukh Naina, Chakli, Pano Bindi and Saleemia.

In the coming months the ice melting on the high altitude mountains may increase the water level as embankments of these lakes already brimming due to landslides, official sources here say.  Read more... (317 words, estimated 1:16 mins reading time)