Assessment Report- Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Background of the situation:

A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck south Asia on the morning of October 8, devastating parts of northern , India and Afghanistan. The epicenter of the earth quake was located 95 kilometers northeast of the Pakistan Capital Islamabad. The earthquake immediately destroyed many buildings and strong aftershocks threatened buildings already damaged by the initial earthquake.

In areas of the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir and Northwestern Frontier Province (NW FP), many villages were almost wiped out.

Assessment Team:

The assessment team for Azad Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two teams, one team carried out the assessment in District Bagh and and the other went to . The first team joined the second team and has come up with this consolidated information and this Rapid Assessment report.

The members of the assessment team were:

1. Shafeeq-ur-Rehman (Islamic Relief-Lead agency) 2. Umair Hassan (Save the Children) 3. Zulqarnain (Concern W orldwide) 4. Nusrat (Action aid) 5. Javeria Afzal (Islamic Relief)

M ethodology:

Data has been collected primarily through visiting affected villages. The methodology used in villages was both discussions with affected populations and observation of affected area.

The local administration, district government of the affected areas, the army and the other Government institutions has been completely destroyed. So there is no consolidated information available in the area, though the team was able to meet some of the Government officials which will be covered in the respective district details.

Background information about Azad Jammu and Kashmir:

Azad Kashmir is divided into two divisions, Muzaffarabad and Mirpur. The consists of Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Poonch, Sudhnuti and Neelum districts whereas comprises of Mirpur, and districts.

Total area of Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 13297 Sq.Kms (5134 Sq.Miles) Average Family size for the whole Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 7.2 members Urban-Rural Ratio: 12:88 Population Density: 252 persons/sq.Km

Statistics of the affected Districts:

Division District Sub-Division Muzaffarabad Muzaffarabad  Muzaffarabad  Hattian  Authmaqam

Poonch (Rawalakot)  Rawalakot  Hajira  Bagh  Bagh  Haveli (forward Kahuta) 

District Area Population Density Growth rate Household size Sq.Kms (millions) (persons/sq.Km) 2003

Muzaffarabad1 6117 856,000 140 2.80 % 7.1

Poonch(Rawalakot) 855 459,000 537 2.24 % 7.6

Bagh 1368 434,300 317 2.00 % 7.4

(Source: Projected on the basis of 1998 census, Statistics section (Planning and Development Department-Azad Government of the state of Jammu and Kashmir)

Findings of the assessment team:

There is no system for search and rescue and people are doing all on their own to pull the bodies under the debris, particularly in District Rawalakot and District bagh the situation is really bad, where people are doing all the work themselves, by pulling the bodies from the collapsed buildings. In Muzaffarabad there are still dead bodies in the streets, waiting to be buried.

1 District Muzaffarabad is divided to two districts; District Neelum and Muzaffarabad The people are extremely traumatized; of them children and women are the most affected distressed. The after shocks are adding to the trauma, there are still continuous jolts in the affected areas.

District Poonch (Rawalakot)

Basic Statistics: Subdivisions: 3 Union councils: 26 Villages: 1080 Approximately total Households on the Area: 80550 (2003 estimates)

The team met with the AC Rawalakot Zafar Iqbal and SP District Poonch, Sardar Mohammad Nisar Khan. Both AC and SP told the team that have no consolidated information because they them selves are facing huge problems because of broken system of communication and all their infrastructure have all been completely destroyed. Further they told they have no system yet for collecting information, though they do have created a control room.

The two of the subdivisions of District Poonch, Rawalakot and Abbaspur are the most adversely affected. According to the estimate almost 80% of the houses have been destroyed/Partially damaged. In Hajira subdivision almost 50% of the houses have been destroyed/partially damaged.

All the kacha houses of the area are completely destroyed and the others are inhabitable now, because of the extensive cracks in them. Since there are continuing aftershocks all the people are living outside in the open. All the main infrastructure of District Poonch has been completely destroyed and the people do not have any electricity since the earthquake. All the buildings of the Government, including the hospitals, schools even the jails have been completely vanished from the face of the earth.

The estimated death toll in District Poonch alone is almost 10,000 which will rise as the people are still pulling the dead bodies from the debris. People are still under the collapsed buildings and majority of them are students.

The team also met Shabir Ahmed Khan, District programme officer NRSP-Rawalakot. National Rural support Programme (NRSP) has a network allover district Poonch.

District Bagh:

Basic Statistics: Subdivisions: 3 Union Councils: 28 Total population: 434,300 (2003 estimates)

90% of the houses in District Bagh have been destroyed/partially damaged (Inhabitable). The team visited Tehsil Bagh and Dhirkot and was unable to visit Forward Kahuta because of inaccessibility to the area. The situation is more or less than the same as in District Poonch infact it is more adversely affected in terms of the death toll, which is roughly estimated at 15,000 alone, considering the fact that the area of Forward Kahuta is not still accessible and there are still dead bodies under the debris.

District Muzaffarabad:

In district Muzaffarabad, the city as well as the rural area has been completely devastated by the earthquake. The rough estimate of the deaths in Muzaffarabad city is alone 15,000 with data still coming from the rural areas. The city has been completely destroyed by the earthquake there is hardly any house intact in the area.

There are incidents of looting in the city and the local of the area are of the view that these people who are looting the area are not the locals.

• Infra structure is completely destroyed (roads, buildings, hospitals, schools, houses). Nearly all of the 72,000 people of Muzaffarabad city are shelter less. • Combined Military Hospital (CMH) building collapsed, 22 Doctors and most of the paramedic staff is missing. Patients, including children and women are still unaccounted for (no accurate estimates of how many patients were in the hospital when the disaster struck). No other medical facility is functional in the city. • There were problems in finding coffin cloth whereas people reported burying dead bodies in ordinary clothes. • 300 children trapped in a collapsed building of a Government school in Muzaffarabad. • From the surrounding areas people brought injured to Muzafarabad for medical treatment but it wasn‘t available due to heavy damages to hospital. People are also coming from surrounding valleys to the city in the hope of getting some help. • Almost all the hotels and markets are completely destroyed • There is no electricity in the city. Supplies of diesel and petrol are also short. • W ater infrastructure is severely damaged and people are using spring water. • Government office buildings have also collapsed. No government officials are seen since the earthquake. According to the locals, many are feared dead or not available due to the death of their family members or close relatives. Neelum Valley

District Neelum:

District Neelum is divided into two subdivisions; Authmaqam and Sharda. Team was unable to visit District Neelum because the area is not accessible. However one of the locals of the District Neelum came from the valley with the following figures; and these figures were also quoted by Islamic Relief office in Kuttan, which is accessible through satellite phone. According to them the region below Doharain is most affected.

Name of the Village Causalities Houses damaged/Partially Damaged Calhiana 300 60% Bandhi 15 28 houses Batpura 3 20 Mirpura - 29

Recommendations

The people of the affected areas need everything as they have nothing for survival and whole of the infrastructure have been destroyed or badly affected.

Immediate Needs:

• W interized Tents • Blankets • Bedding • Plastic Sheeting • W arm clothing

Severe winters usually starts from October in Kashmir, and already the evenings are very cold in AJK particularly in Rawalakot and Bagh. So tents, quilts and Blankets are the most immediate need of the people. Additionally, it is recommended that warm clothes and shoes for children are distributed since they are more vulnerable to extreme weather. Since most of the affected families lost their belongings when their houses collapsed there are in single pair of cloths and with no cooking utensils.

Food: The markets are adversely affected, though there are some shops however the shop keepers are busy in the arranging funerals of their families and relatives. Food is needed in the remote areas like district Bagh and Rawalakot as the areas are difficult to access. And with the arrival of winters, these areas are usually cut off from Muzaffarabad the heavy snowfall in AJK earlier this year is the prime of example when the remote areas were cut off and became inaccessible.

M edical Needs: There is an immediate need for the medicines and paramedical staff. It is recommended to have mobile clinics in the affected area so that the injured could be treated in their own area as currently the helicopters of army are being used for treating the patients in the adjoining areas.

Medium to long term needs:

1. W ater and Sanitation ( The earthquake has badly affected water availability in the area. People used to use latrines for defecation prior to the earthquake, but now the communities are using open defecation. This has created huge problems for females, who now have to wait for the night to go out for defecation; it is recommended to have a detailed survey of the area to assess the damage to water infrastructure and detailed recommendations for the water and sanitation sector). 2. All the Government medical teams have been completely destroyed in the area; and the patients are being treated in the health camps that have been organized by different agencies. Since most the affected population has lost their possessions, they need hygiene kits, especially to cater for the female needs.

Affected Districts

Map of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Contact details:

Islamic Relief:

• Muzaffarabad Office: 058810-33400, 058810-33401 (Satellite number: 008821621167325)

• Bagh Office: 058810-33400-1 (Satellite number: 00821689804076)

Rawalakot Contact Details:

• AC Rawalakot Zafar Iqbal (Phone numbers # 05871-43141) • SP District Poonch, Sardar Mohammad Nisar Khan (Phone numbers # 05871- 49107 and 05871-49109. • A control room has been established in SP‘s office (Contact Number # 05871- 42686).

National Rural Support Programme (NRSP)-Rawalakot:

• The contact details are 05871-42667 and 42606.