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Winter warning over quake tents
Aid Workers: Pakistan Tents Insufficient
By Zaraf Khan, Associated Press Writer
Friday, 2 December 2005
news.yahoo.com
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Aid officials warned on Friday that almost all of the hundreds of thousands of tents distributed to quake survivors in Pakistan will not protect against the harsh Himalayan winter.
Pakistan's army said it was constructing 5,000 shelters a day out of corrugated metal for the 3.5 million left homeless amid fears of a second wave of deaths as conditions worsen in the coming weeks.
An estimated 87,000 died in the Oct. 8 temblor, which caused devastation across a vast swath of Pakistan and India, mostly in Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region divided between them. Winter started last month, and hundreds stream into hospitals every day for cold-related ailments such as pneumonia.
In Islamabad, Darren Boisvert, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said 420,000 tents have been distributed in Pakistan but "90 percent are not winterized."
"Winterized tents are expensive, they are hard to procure, and must be shipped from overseas," he said.
Boisvert said relief efforts have focused on the highest mountain villages, rather than the hundreds of thousands living in non-winterized tents in refugee camps lower down. He said 5,000 tents that are adequate for winter have been distributed to those above the snow line, and another 5,000 will be distributed by Dec. 12.
Jan Vandemoortele, the U.N.'s top aid coordinator in Pakistan, acknowledged a "colossal job" remains.
"The first snowfall last week gave us a taste of what the future will be," he said at a news conference in Islamabad. "The situation remains very difficult."
Vandemoortele said many villagers are choosing to stay put despite the hardships, and said no one will be forced to leave their homes. But he added that as the weather deteriorates, the number of people flowing into camps is expected to grow.
"We remain on a knife's edge," he said. "It may get worse before it gets better."
Rain and snow have hampered aid operations, which still rely on helicopters to ferry supplies to communities in isolated mountains. Some roads have been closed and others declared unsafe.
On Thursday, a moderate aftershock was felt in northwestern Pakistan, Islamabad and some areas of Kashmir, according to Pakistan's meteorological department.
Strong winds and colder-than-normal, subfreezing temperatures were forecast again for the weekend. The cold was expected to get particularly severe in the higher mountain villages.
The army said in a statement it has constructed about 30,000 shelters for quake survivors out of corrugated iron sheets, and is building 5,000 more each day.
Thousands in quake-affected areas have built additional shelters with the assistance of aid agencies, soldiers and volunteers.
Pakistan's top relief official, Mohammed Farooq Khan, urged countries to send more winterized tents and corrugated iron sheets.
He said reconstruction activities would begin only after the completion of a survey to determine what areas are safe, probably in another few weeks.
Winter warning over quake tents Winter warning over quake tents
Friday, 2 December 2005, 10:33 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk
Most of the tents given to survivors of the South Asia earthquake in October are not designed for winter conditions, a leading aid agency says.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says the issue of shelter "is becoming more critical".
About three million people lost their homes in the quake which Pakistan says left some 73,000 dead.
The IOM is leading the operation to distribute emergency shelter to the survivors of the disaster.
'Expensive'
Relief organisations have long been appealing for 'winterised' tents designed to withstand the cold of a Himalayan winter.
The IOM is working alongside the United Nations and other organisations in the earthquake zone.
IOM spokesman Darren Boisvert said he had earlier believed that three-quarters of the tents given out were not winterised.
But on Friday he told journalists in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad: "The latest is that 90% of tents are not winterised.
"Winterised tents are expensive, they are hard to procure and must be shipped from overseas."
But the UN official with overall responsibility for the relief effort said that did not mean that the non-winterised tents were not adequate.
Jan Vandemoortele said people could still use blankets and tarpaulins to provide extra protection.
"When we say that 90% of tents are not winterised, it does not mean that they are inadequate, the proportion of tents that is not adequate is much, much smaller," he said.
Mr Vandemoortele warned that "the situation remains very difficult. We are on a knife's edge."
He said the biggest problems for relief workers were not the cold conditions but "complacency and pessimism".
'Sticking to plans'
Nato troops have been making a substantial contribution to the relief efforts.
However, Pakistan said on Thursday that it would not be asking Nato to extend its commitment once its initial mission expires.
"We are sticking to our plans," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Nato says an exact date for its troops to withdraw will be decided next week. Reports suggest it will be in January or February.
International donors have pledged some $5.4bn (?3.14bn) to help Pakistan recover from the earthquake, the government says.
Many of the pledges are in the form of low interest loans.
The authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir say some 1,400 people there were killed by the earthquake.
By Zaraf Khan, Associated Press Writer
Friday, 2 December 2005
news.yahoo.com
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Aid officials warned on Friday that almost all of the hundreds of thousands of tents distributed to quake survivors in Pakistan will not protect against the harsh Himalayan winter.
Pakistan's army said it was constructing 5,000 shelters a day out of corrugated metal for the 3.5 million left homeless amid fears of a second wave of deaths as conditions worsen in the coming weeks.
An estimated 87,000 died in the Oct. 8 temblor, which caused devastation across a vast swath of Pakistan and India, mostly in Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region divided between them. Winter started last month, and hundreds stream into hospitals every day for cold-related ailments such as pneumonia.
In Islamabad, Darren Boisvert, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said 420,000 tents have been distributed in Pakistan but "90 percent are not winterized."
"Winterized tents are expensive, they are hard to procure, and must be shipped from overseas," he said.
Boisvert said relief efforts have focused on the highest mountain villages, rather than the hundreds of thousands living in non-winterized tents in refugee camps lower down. He said 5,000 tents that are adequate for winter have been distributed to those above the snow line, and another 5,000 will be distributed by Dec. 12.
Jan Vandemoortele, the U.N.'s top aid coordinator in Pakistan, acknowledged a "colossal job" remains.
"The first snowfall last week gave us a taste of what the future will be," he said at a news conference in Islamabad. "The situation remains very difficult."
Vandemoortele said many villagers are choosing to stay put despite the hardships, and said no one will be forced to leave their homes. But he added that as the weather deteriorates, the number of people flowing into camps is expected to grow.
"We remain on a knife's edge," he said. "It may get worse before it gets better."
Rain and snow have hampered aid operations, which still rely on helicopters to ferry supplies to communities in isolated mountains. Some roads have been closed and others declared unsafe.
On Thursday, a moderate aftershock was felt in northwestern Pakistan, Islamabad and some areas of Kashmir, according to Pakistan's meteorological department.
Strong winds and colder-than-normal, subfreezing temperatures were forecast again for the weekend. The cold was expected to get particularly severe in the higher mountain villages.
The army said in a statement it has constructed about 30,000 shelters for quake survivors out of corrugated iron sheets, and is building 5,000 more each day.
Thousands in quake-affected areas have built additional shelters with the assistance of aid agencies, soldiers and volunteers.
Pakistan's top relief official, Mohammed Farooq Khan, urged countries to send more winterized tents and corrugated iron sheets.
He said reconstruction activities would begin only after the completion of a survey to determine what areas are safe, probably in another few weeks.
Winter warning over quake tents Winter warning over quake tents
Friday, 2 December 2005, 10:33 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk
Most of the tents given to survivors of the South Asia earthquake in October are not designed for winter conditions, a leading aid agency says.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says the issue of shelter "is becoming more critical".
About three million people lost their homes in the quake which Pakistan says left some 73,000 dead.
The IOM is leading the operation to distribute emergency shelter to the survivors of the disaster.
'Expensive'
Relief organisations have long been appealing for 'winterised' tents designed to withstand the cold of a Himalayan winter.
The IOM is working alongside the United Nations and other organisations in the earthquake zone.
IOM spokesman Darren Boisvert said he had earlier believed that three-quarters of the tents given out were not winterised.
But on Friday he told journalists in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad: "The latest is that 90% of tents are not winterised.
"Winterised tents are expensive, they are hard to procure and must be shipped from overseas."
But the UN official with overall responsibility for the relief effort said that did not mean that the non-winterised tents were not adequate.
Jan Vandemoortele said people could still use blankets and tarpaulins to provide extra protection.
"When we say that 90% of tents are not winterised, it does not mean that they are inadequate, the proportion of tents that is not adequate is much, much smaller," he said.
Mr Vandemoortele warned that "the situation remains very difficult. We are on a knife's edge."
He said the biggest problems for relief workers were not the cold conditions but "complacency and pessimism".
'Sticking to plans'
Nato troops have been making a substantial contribution to the relief efforts.
However, Pakistan said on Thursday that it would not be asking Nato to extend its commitment once its initial mission expires.
"We are sticking to our plans," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Nato says an exact date for its troops to withdraw will be decided next week. Reports suggest it will be in January or February.
International donors have pledged some $5.4bn (?3.14bn) to help Pakistan recover from the earthquake, the government says.
Many of the pledges are in the form of low interest loans.
The authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir say some 1,400 people there were killed by the earthquake.
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