EARTHQUAKE EMERGENCY NRC PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE SITUATION REPORT – WEEK ENDING 22ND JAN 2006 Situation overview Heavy snow and rain continued during the beginning of the week, causing avalanches and landslides as well as hardship for earthquake affectees and the relief community. However by the weather conditions were improving by Wednesday and helicopter operations resumed immediately. A total of 25 helicopters are now operating, delivering aid and deploying passengers to high altitude areas and lower areas. Significant roads in the earthquake affected area are still closed and aftershocks continue. A snow leopard has been circling NRC tents during the night. FOCUS – NRC Builds Camp Management Skills NRC Camp Management and Training of Trainers courses started this week in Mansehra and Musaffarabad. The training aims to enhance living conditions in camps and allow a more cohesive approach to camp management, according to Nina M. Birkeland, NRC Camp Management Adviser who flew in from Oslo on Monday with others who will be conducting training for the next three weeks. Tens of thousands of earthquake affectees are living in camps, some of which are managed better than others. They have been living in tents for over 3 months now. NRC’s training will allow internationally acquired knowledge on best practice standards to be given to those involved in camp management, and allow them to benefit from lessons already learned in the field. Training and support documentation (including the excellent Camp Management Toolkit) will be available in Urdu from next week. The NRC team is building the skills of participants so they can then train others. “Seeing the active participation, I think we have the makings of some excellent trainers,” Ms. Birkeland said. One of the participants in Mansehra is Qazi Yaser Ahmad, a 33 year old Supervisor with the Regional Relief Commission (RRC) in Gari Habibullah. Before the earthquake he was a teacher at the Balakot Public School, which he founded. “I was sitting in my office in the school when an urgent phone call came to return home,” he said. He was driving home when the quake struck. “The earth shook like a boat in the water,” he said. “Every house was destroyed. All of Balakot.” Tears welled in his eyes as he recalled the scene: “When I reached my home, I found only debris. My young daughter was dead. My wife was badly injured. And my mother was crying out from under the rubble.” Balakot was completely cut off for two days after the October 8th earthquake, and the weather was foul, with strong rain and winds. Mr. Yaser described the shock he and others felt as people cried out for help from under the fallen buildings: “We had no thinking power. Decision power finished.” Despite this he carried his wife and his mother on foot for five km until he found a vehicle that could take them to hospital in Mansehra. Yaser’s wife had her right foot amputated and is still in hospital in Islamabad more than three months later. His school building was completely destroyed. 14 of his 120 students died. But he is determined to work to help others. “I know the problems of the affectees … I am also an affectee,” he said. He has no previous experience in relief work, and is particularly pleased to be taking part in the ‘Train the Trainer’ course. “I am learning more about good camp management, and I will do my best to train other RRC employees,” he said. NRC is pleased to be able to assist and capacity-build civilian authority and NGO camp management skills through the participation of bodies such as the RRC in this training. Around 60 staff members from NRC, UNHCR and its implementing partners, UNICEF, the Government, PAKMIL and other NGOs have now been trained on the NRC Toolkit. NRC Pakistan Earthquake Situation Report, week ending Jan 22nd 2006 1 NRC Pakistan Earthquake Situation Report, week ending Jan 22nd 2006 2 Achievements This Week • Alpine Support Team: During the first half of the week, the AST was operating in the remote Allai Valley, where they conducted training for NRC and other interested actors in basic alpine skills and risk assessment. Later they split into smaller groups to conduct training for other humanitarian actors in Bagh and Battagram, and support NRC field teams in Gari Habibullah. • Camp Management: NRC has been receiving strong support from UNHCR, GOP and PAKMIL for its Camp Management Training (see Focus, p.1). In addition preparation is ongoing for the first distribution round of winterization items to Camps in the Batagram area next week. The items for distribution include blankets, clothes for children and CGI sheets. • Distribution: On Friday night the Assessment and Distribution team in Jiggan (north of Balakot) had a close encounter with two snow leopards (Uncia Uncia). The two animals circled around their tent for approximately 5 hours, before leaving the site. It has as a consequence been decided that the team from now on will have armed protection by the Pakistani Army. Due to last weeks heavy rain and snow fall the Distribution and Reconstruction & Shelter units faced severe problems with many landslides in the operational areas. As a consequence all teams were advised to either evacuate or take extreme precautions if deciding to continue distribution. The Distribution Coordinator, Reconstruction Coordinator and the Alpine Support Team were stuck in the Allai Valley by weather and landslides. They returned on Wednesday when helicopter operations restarted. The weather situation has also resulted in a construction delay for the new base camp in Banna, Allai Valley. A shortage of building materials and difficulties in finding a suitable location are also problematic. The new Allai base camp will be situated in the same general area as the old base camp, but at a slightly higher altitude. Ten new Assessment and distribution officers were recruited during the reporting week. • Education: After completing recruitment of the new staff for the Education project in Batagram, briefing and training took place in Abbottabad. Other humanitarian agencies working in the area have been informed about the new NRC activities. Education teams have carried out initial assessments in Thakot and Batkool Union Councils, in order to startup the Education project. • Logistics: The logistics unit has been in close cooperation with UNICEF in Batagram in order to make the final preparations for distribution of 20,000 winterized kits for children. 20,000 winterized kits have been received from UNICEF for distribution in the Battagram district. Additionally 10,000 blankets have been moved from the NRC Warehouse in Gari Habibulla to Muzaffarabad, and are to be distribution by the Camp Management program. An extra 2,600 CGI sheets are in the pipeline in addition to the 60.000 sheets reported last week. • Reconstruction: Due to a family emergency, the Reconstruction Coordinator has been forced to take home-leave. The Distribution Unit will be responsible to follow-up on all reconstruction and shelter matters until the Reconstruction Coordinator returns. 2 NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL NRC Pakistan Earthquake Situation Report, week ending Jan 22nd 2006 3 TARGET POPULATIONS / BENEFICIARIES Target areas: Activities this week: Activities next week AST Allai Trainings provided for NRC staff in harsh conditions and for humanitarian actors/PAKMIL. 80 staff from 4 organizations with approx 400 staff trained. Gari Habibullah Training for humanitarian actors. Training for NRC Staff Batagram Training for humanitarian actors. 8 organisations with approx 100 staff trained. Bagh Training for humanitarian actors and PAKMIL. 9 organisations with approx 400 staff trained. Balakot / Jiggan Training for NRC Staff / Assessments. CM: Distribution this week Ongoing next week Batagram 10,000 blankets; 10,000 clothes kits for children; (10,000 iron sheets after next week) Distribution: See annex A for details Planned distribution of 10,000 blankets and of all NRC distributions 10,000 warm kits for children via Camp undertaken till date. Management in the area of Batagram. The NFIs are donated from UNICEF, and will be distributed through the PAKMIL with NRC coordination. Education (Battagram) Thakot UC, Battagram Briefing and training of staff Start site planning along with NCA Assessment NCA hygiene training of staff Set-up of model school Batkool UC, Allai Assessment Introduction of NRC activities to Cluster partners Introduction of NRC activities to in Banna, Allai Cluster partners in Battagram Jambeera UC, Allai Assessment Logistics: See text above Reconstruction: See Annex A for full details on all reconstruction operations until today. 3 NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL Annex A Norwegian Refugee Council N.W.F.P severly affected population Shelter / NFI Distribution SUMMARY DISTRIBUTION REPORT (JANUARY 21, 2006) Shelter/NFI Items Distributed District Tehsil Winter Blankets Roofing Caps Hammers/ Nail Bags / Rem n Stoves Coal CZ Sheets Plan Sheets School Kits Total Tents Quilts & Washers Buckets Gloves Balakot Tehsil Tcode: 3180 3527 3560 3329 16380 1406 92 2760 68 127 0 31249 97 Mansehra Tehsil Tcode: 3182 2714 19401720 7253 711 30 232 413 238 0 15251 0 Dcode: 2072 Dcode: Oghi Tehsil Mansehra District Mansehra Tcode: 3183 914 911 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1825 0 Abbottabad ATD ATD (2055) Tcode: 3153 156 156 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 312 0 Sub-Total 7311 6567 5049 23633 2117 122 2992 481 365 0 48637 97 Allai Tehsil Tcode: 3155 960 1139 2000 9550 0 0 0 0 0 1601 13649 0 Battagram T Tcode: 3156 165165 0 0 0 000 0 0 330 0 Dcode: 2063 Dcode: Battagram District Battagram 00 Sub-Total 1125 1304 2000 9550 0 0 0 0 0 1601 13979 0 Chakisar Tehsil Tcode: 3190 595 252 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 847 0 Opal Tehsil Tcode: 443 193 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 636 0 Alpuri Tehsil Dcode: 2074 Dcode: Tcode: 3188 487 487 100 0 0 974 0 0 0 0 974 0 Shangla District Shangla Poran Tehsil Tcode: 3192 475 475 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 950 0 Sub-Total 2000 1407 100 0 0 974 0 0 0 0 3407 0 Grand Total 10436 9278 7149 33183 2117 1096 2992 481 365 1601 19714 97 Unit Nos.