 An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hit districts of Ziaret, Pishin, Zhob, Naseerabad and Sibi in the north east of Quetta capital of Balochistan province in south-western Pakistan. It struck 70 km (45 miles) north of Quetta at 04:09 am Tuesday – October 29th 2008) at a depth of 10 km, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Epicenter was Chiltan mountains West of Quetta suburbs. After shocks are constantly happening and will continue for next seven days or so according to the experts.
Islamic Relief Response:
Islamic Relief emergency team has been deployed immediately to do rapid assessment of the disaster together with other agencies. According to the assessment mission below are the major findings:
Ziarat is the most affected area due to the Wednesday’s earthquake which caused 233 deaths as per the findings of the assessment mission and leaving over 21,600 people homeless. Hundreds of people have been severely injured that have been taken to the Quetta city and other neighboring districts as the health facilities in the disaster hit zone have been destroyed.
As per the mission’s findings; shelter winterized kits are most urgently needed as well as food, clean drinking water and medicine are the immediate needs of the affected people.
Islamic Relief is planning for an initial response with relief items worth of GBP 10,000 soon as the full detailed assessment/by locations for most affected area’s of the earthquake is completed.
IR is preparing for the immediate procurement of materials: blankets, kitchen utensils, food & non food items. Islamic Relief’s WATSN, Health & Shelter team will be out to the area within coming 24/48 hours for assessment to the sectors, coordination with assessment teams and authorities on ground to get one picture of the damage and needs.
IR is the lead cluster member in shelter and is coordinating with the UNHABITAT and IOM through cluster head for assistance for those lost their houses, in consultation with provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) and District Government.
According to the preliminary assessment report the most affected area was in between Kach (60 km towards north east of Quetta) and Kawas 80 km from the provincial capital. The area is almost 90% severely hit and almost 80% houses are completely destroyed and 100% community with almost total population of 8,000 is affected.
No drinking water facility in all above villages as the main source of drinking water is wells/water pumps that have been damaged. For the local people there is no clean drinking water facility available at the moment. Electricity supply was totally destroyed thus leaving the area in dark. Gas pipe lines are severely damaged and supply was stopped.
Health units are damaged and the injured were taken to Quetta and other neighboring districts.
By the evening of October 29th there were not enough tents available for the survivors leaving them in open sky in freezing temperatures. Temperature in the night was 2 Celsius and the community including women children and elderly people staying in the open sky without any shelter. If shelter is not provided immediately there is risk of further losses of lives and/or people may most probably suffer from various diseases.
Infrastructure was severely hit and cracks in the metal roads were observed at many places. Access to the tiny scattered community was not possible due to the roads blocked by the land sliding due to the mountainous terrain.
Major damage to the infrastructure:
- Houses
- Water schemes
- Electricity poles
- Commercial properties
- Irrigation systems
Health care facilities
Security:
Security is not an issue in this area, however foreign nationals are not allowed without permission from the home office, ministry of interior and NDMA.
Balochistan Province Background:
Balochistan is the largest province in Pakistan with 44 percent of the country’s land area but only 5 percent of the population. The province is comparatively backward and economic development is needed to deal with significant structural problems, both political and socio-economic. The revenue and expenditure budgets of Balochistan are characterized by sporadic adjustments on a year to year basis. (source: www.worldbank.org)
This region is prone to disaster, just last year there have been floods that brought enormous devastation in various parts of the province. A long spell of drought for almost over seven years vanished livelihood of the local people, leaving the villagers in an extremely difficult situation.
Islamic Relief History in the Province:
In response to the long spell of drought Islamic Relief responded through various relief operations in two of the most affected districts of Chaghi and Kharan. Later in 2002 a number of development initiatives were taken to not only provide sustainable sources to the local people but also to build their capacity to live normal life and find solution to their local issues within the community. Major focus in the area is on social mobilisation, drinking water schemes, agriculture, basic health care and disaster preparedness. |
