Rapid Response Payment Request No. 05/2010
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SECRETARIAT - 150 route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland - TEL: +41 22 791 6033 - FAX: +41 22 791 6506 www .actalliance.org Please note that this RRF replaces the RRF 05/2010 issued on 27 May 2010. Rapid Response Payment Request No. 05/2010 Funds Sent To: Church World Service- Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS-P/A) Amount Sent: US$ 48,861 Date: 1 June 2010 Details of Response Emergency: Displacement due to Hunza valley landslide-created lake and flooding, Northern Pakistan Date of Emergency: 27 May 2010 DETAILS OF THE EMERGENCY : The lives of thousands of families in northern Pakistan are facing acute danger as the dam created by landslides in the Hunza Valley earlier this year threatens to begin overflowing and flooding surrounding areas. Hunza River is the principal river of Hunza, in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It is formed by the confluence of the Kilik and Khunjerab nalas (gorges) which are fed by glaciers. It is joined by the Gilgit River and the Naltar River before it flows into the Indus River. The river cuts through the Karakoram range, flowing from north to south. The Karakoram Highway crosses the Hunza River near Hunza and Nagar valleys. Landslides in Hunza River are common due to proximity of the glaciers. A massive landslide hit Hunza District on Monday, 4th January 2010. This was followed by rolling boulders and rocks, pushing two villages, including Attabad, into the Hunza River. As a result Shahra-e-Karakorum (KKH) and the Hunza River were blocked, cutting off the Upper Hunza area. According to initial reports, over 2,500 people were displaced and out of these 1,673 men, women and children have been settled in camps set up in four schools in Altit and the rest with host families. At least 15 people were killed and infrastructural damage is reported to have affected 260 houses. Debris blocking the Hunza River created an artificial dam and the Pakistan Army’s Frontier Works Organisation has built a spillway in response. However, the length of the lake created has extended from 3km to 18.5 km and water levels are spreading and rising rapidly as the water flow into the lake is at 2,600 cusecs while outflow is only 200 cusecs. Water levels have now reached a critical level and threaten to start overflowing in the next three days, leading to floods reaching a distance of up to 400 km downriver. The current landslide and water level situation is summarized as follows: Total height of landslide from top to bottom: 418 feet Total water depth: 340 feet Distance left to reach Spillway (height left) : 25 feet Daily water rise in the lake per day : 2.8 feet The dam could collapse any time RRF No. 05/2010 – Pakistan 2 The Frontier Works Organization (FWO), National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) and army engineers have projected different scenarios related to the speed of the overflow and depth of the lake water. In the worst case scenario, a dam burst releasing the entire body of water in one hour and causing a 30-metre wave would lead to at least 1,800 households on the river banks being severely affected. Four NESPAK scenarios depict the water speed and wave height according to the time the dam might take to burst (one, six, 18 and 24 hours). The worst scenario of one hour would severely hit the following areas: District Hunza-Nagar – 25 Villages including Atta Abad and Sarat District Gilgit – 14 Villages District Kohistan – 30 Villages ACTIONS TO DATE , AND EMERGENCY NEEDS : A. National and Local Government Particularly in Kohistan, the Government set up 9 camps for the expected IDPs. These are in GHS Shatial, GPS Kaiga, GHS Seo, GGHS DCO Colony Dassu, GGPS Shahjahan Abad Kamaila, GHS Pattan, GMS Shalkhanabad, GHS Jijal and GHS Bataira. In preparation for the influx of IDPs, the Government had requested tents and shelter kits to house them. However, as per the assessment conducted by CWS and the meetings held with local authorities, it was found that many of the displaced families opted to reside with relatives and host communities, thus the need for tents is no longer be practical. Instead, food rations were urgently requested by the displaced families and the local government. B. Communities The affected communities in general, have been very cooperative with the evacuation plan. Communities located in the elevated areas in Kohistan have generously opened their homes and allowed IDPs to stay with them temporarily. This was the main reason why tents are no longer needed and the gap identified is the scarcity of food rations. C. International and National NGOs In response to the crisis and in preparation for the potential massive evacuation and relocation of residents, several international and national NGOs have prepared contingency plans and commenced with initial activities to be able to provide immediate and adequate assistance. Other organizations such as the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Focus Humanitarian Assistance and World Vision have been conducting ground assessments and have been calling on partners and donor agencies for assistance. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has started transporting critical relief supplies to Hunza. However, the focus of most aid agencies is addressing the needs of those situated in Hunza Valley, as well as Gilgit and areas in Battagram. Kohistan and Shangla are two different districts where massive movement of families also took place and were supposed to be housed in camps by the local government. However, the CWS assessment showed that the majority of those displaced opted to stay in relatives and host communities rather than in camps. Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan has developed an emergency action plan led by its Disaster Management Programme. Based on identified needs, an internal assessment of available supplies for immediate relief has been done. It has also activated its Emergency Response Team and it is currently on stand-by, ready for deployment once the lake breaches. The organization’s Health Team in Swat, currently working for IDPs, as well as its local partners in the area have also been alerted, ready to provide immediate assistance. In coordination with partners and line agencies, CWS-P/A was able to get an initial assessment of ground realities and current situation in the field. Based on these findings, it has identified gaps in interventions and has called upon its partners and donors for pledges to meet these gaps. CWS-P/A is the only organization so far who has expressed its interest in providing assistance to the affected communities in Kohistan. CWS-P/A conducted an initial assessment through contacts and partners on May 25 and a follow-on on-ground assessment on May 29-31. As a result of CWS-P/A’s follow-on assessment in Kohistan 29 – 31 May and the meeting held with the District Coordination Officer and the Naib Tehsildars, it has been ascertained that there are currently over a thousand RRF No. 05/2010 – Pakistan 3 households who are currently displaced and are living with host families in elevated areas of Kohistan. The displaced had to leave their homes more than five days ago and, so far, there has not been any support provided to them and their hosts. Breakdown is as follows: No. of No. of Tehsil Union Council Village Households Individuals Dassu Dassu Kaiga 58 303 Dassu Dassu Doga 2 25 Dassu Dassu Uchar Nala 22 89 Dassu Dassu Dassu 75 790 Dassu Kuz Jalkot Sigal Jalkot 21 159 Dassu Komela Kuz Komela 140 2,240 Dassu Seo Seo purana 5 87 Dassu Kuz Purwa Kae Millar 29 231 Dassu Kuz Purwa Gayal 17 196 Dassu Sazin Sazin village 6 10 Dassu Thoti Dunda Nala 18 105 Dassu Harban Harban Nala 10 32 Dassu Sazin Shatial 22 152 Pattan Kho Khiyal Kho Khiyal 39 654 Pattan Kairo Kairo maro 9 102 Pattan Seri Jijal Seri 42 488 Pattan Dobair Colony Bahadarabad 13 145 Pattan Sholgara Bankad Satara 11 175 Pattan Patta Keyal Lontir 15 162 Pattan Pattan Muslim bagh 227 2,229 Pattan Pattan Siglokawai 51 549 Pattan Pattan Kaseer 61 476 Pattan Pattan Gambeer 53 619 Pattan Pattan Dani 27 248 Pattan Pattan Chalabad 29 228 Palas Madakhel abad Kolai Bataira 167 1,247 Palas Ser Ghaziabad Ghazi Abad 71 527 Palas Shalkhanabad Shalkhanabad 10 113 Total 1,250 12,381 While the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)’s mobilisation of a relief response and donor pledges are strong for Hunza and Gilgit districts, substantially greater gaps in assistance will need to be met in Kohistan and Shangla especially food packages. There is also an acute need for doctors, ambulances, medicines and medical supplies across all of the areas. In addition to emergency food distribution in Kohistan District planned with the support of ACT Rapid Response Funding, CWS-P/A will be responding through an ongoing Kingdom of Netherlands (EKN)-funded Partnership for Recovery and Development of the Allai Valley (PRDA), along with partners Save the Children Federation Inc. and Sungi Development Foundation. They have received a pledge from the Embassy to provide emergency and rehabilitation support for 1,000 families in Allai through PRDA contingency funds. After conducting an initial needs assessment, it was agreed that the following activities will be conducted to jointly address this disaster, in coordination with the District Coordination Cell. a. Distribution of NFI Items (SC and CWS-P/A) b. Distribution of Food Packages (CWS-P/A) to cover 7-days ration c. WATSAN Facilities (Sungi) d. Health and Sanitation Facilities (SC) RRF No. 05/2010 – Pakistan 4 PROPOSED EMERGENCY RESPONSE - OBJECTIVE (S) OF THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE Goal : To minimize the suffering of the Internally Displaced Population through the provision of emergency food packages.