A year after last October’s massive South Asian earthquake, aid agencies are warning that nearly two-million people are facing a second Himalayan winter without proper shelter. VOA’s Benjamin Sand revisits one of the communities hit hardest by the October 8, 2005 quake and files this report on the disaster’s devastating legacy.
A song tells of the life and death of one of the quake’s victims.
“When I died,” the girl sings, “my body was broken and spread throughout the land. My family could not find me and I left without being buried.”
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Authorities in Pakistani Kashmir on Tuesday began winding up one of the first informal tent camps established for survivors of last year’s deadly earthquake.
The closure of the camp set up in Jalalabad Park in Muzaffarabad, the devastated capital of Pakistani Kashmir, came days ahead of the first anniversary of the earthquake.
The camp was opened on October 9, a day after the quake struck northern Pakistan, killing more than 73,000 people and leaving more than three million destitute. “Yes, today we have started shifting people to another place because the government wants to revive the park,” camp manager Maqbool Shah told Reuters.
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The National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) is all set to prepare a new building code for Pakistan to protect buildings against future damages caused by high intensity earthquakes. It has already prepared a building code for Islamabad, AJK and some parts of the NWFP that were hit by last year’s earthquake.
The new building code will be implemented by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Islamabad for all new constructions in the city. NESPAK has also submitted the code to the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) to ensure that it is followed in the construction works in the affected areas, said NESPAK Managing Director Chaudhry Karamatullah in a presentation regarding the rehabilitation and reconstruction schemes in the earthquake-affected areas. The presentation was chaired by Federal Minister for Water and Power Liaqat Ali Jatoi on Tuesday.
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The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) launched its Restoration of Earthquake Affected Communities & Households Project (REACH) with a funding of Rs 1.6 billion from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed, deputy chairman of the Earthquake Rehabilitation & Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) was the chief guest at the launching ceremony held on Wednesday.
In his inaugural address, the chief guest praised the role of IFAD and PPAF in development of rural areas. He said rehabilitation is a big challenge for the country and REACH would play an important role. He said that approximately 600,000 homes had been assessed for damage and compensation given to 40,000 affected people. Ahmad Jamal acting chief executive PPAF, Nigel Brett country portfolio manager of IFAD, and Steve Jones coordinator for the World Bank also spoke on the occasion.
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Fatima Bhutto, daughter of late Murtaza Bhutto, and grand-daughter of former prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and author of “8:50 AM: stories of hope and courage from the earthquake areas”, resorting to plain speaking and in a tone of cynicism, put forth some searching questions about the October 8, 2005 earthquake. She was speaking at the launch of her book at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday.
Thanking the other speakers for their tributes, she brought up some very intricate issues.
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched a radio programme to update earthquake affected people affecting their recovery. The programme, launched in collaboration with the media wing of Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) will be aired in Islamabad and earthquake-affected areas. A daily half-hour show to be aired on radio FM 99 will be based interviews on with government policy-makers, aid workers, returnees and people living in relief camps.
Source: Daily Times
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The World Conservation Union (IUCN), the World Wide Fund (WWF) and CARE International are predicting a serious environmental hazard in the earth quake- affected areas and have issued an alert bulletin highlighting the threats for the up coming monsoon season.
Environmentalists are saying that the unstable earth, resulting from the earthquake, may cause massive landslides and loss of life and agricultural land in the event of heavy or extended rains. According to Dr David Petley of University of Durham it was probably the greatest landslide threat in the world.
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The Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) for Pakistan is a common service to the humanitarian community managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and operates in coordination with a number of partners including the United Nations Joint Logistics Cell (UNJLC), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO).
The HIC provides a range of services and products designed to help organisations to make operational decisions during the emergency period. These include orientation products (including contact lists and meeting schedules), map products (covering issues from administrative boundaries to security concerns) and technical advice to organisations to help them manage data and information more effectively.
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