Anybody Know About the Aftermath of the 2005 Kashmir Earthquake?

[neoblues]

It was a pretty big deal, with 73K killed and 3.3 million homeless and facing a Himalayan winter... and all they had were shabby summer quality tents... and that was October 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Kashmir_earthquake

Seems like the winter would have come and gone by now, but I can't seem to find anything about how all those people managed to survive (or not). I guess, as a news story, it's time was up and nothing much considered 'newsworthy' to report? Just wondering; if anyone can point me towards any relevant information it would be appreciated.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Here's a link to Refugees International

It's from December, the newest information they have posted:

http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/7421/

[JCMach1]

2. the people of Pakistan are as resilient as the government

is incompetent and corrupt.

Hopefully, enough of the aid got through to make a difference...

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Torrential rains flood quake areas, wash away roads

Just today.

The monsoon season in northern Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir is bringing further misery to the victims of last October's earthquake, with many still living in inadequate, temporary dwellings.

After recent days of heavy rainfall and predictions for a severe monsoon, there are fears that the rain could bring greater devastation than the snows of the past winter, which were relatively mild.

In the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) town of Balakot, which was devastated by the quake, people are still camped out in tents. The unrelenting rain of the past few days has reduced open areas to giant pools of water. In some cases, the water has seeped into makeshift shelters and families perch atop damp bedding, unable to dry out clothes or other belongings.

"It's just miserable. We still have no home and the rains will just get more and more forceful from now on," said Sadiqa Bibi, 30, huddled in a clumsy, makeshift shelter just outside the city of Mansehra, in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Her husband, Gulab Khan, had gone to look for tin sheets to protect his family, including two children. "We have still not received the compensation money promised, so how can we build a home?" Sadiqa asked. The Pakistani government promised to pay compensation to quake victims, but many are still waiting for payments nine months on.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/e642653f0f4eb9d6af6416e93051eaad.htm

A piece from April

While in almost all other areas devastated by the quake, which killed more than 75,000 people, reconstruction work and efforts to rebuild lives and livelihoods are evident - in Balakot, almost nothing seems to have moved on over the past eight months.

People still live in frayed tents or in cave-like shelters carved out amidst the heaps of rubble. Schools, operating in tents, often lack blackboards, chairs or other basic amenities. Makeshift hospitals are run mainly by religious groups – other aid agencies have gradually drifted away – and the shops near roadsides are operated by Afghan refugees.

"We are in a state of limbo. Everyone has left us and no one knows what will happen next. Even the reconstruction work has been stopped," Riaz Pervaiz, 50, a farmer told IRIN. He pointed to abandoned sacks of cement and small piles of bricks as evidence of suspended construction work.

In what amounts to an unprecedented event in the history of Pakistan, the country's government has decided to, literally, remove Balakot from the map. Instead, a new town is to be built, most likely at Bakrial, a site some 20 km away from the existing city. The site is currently a desolate moonscape of rocky hills, but government officials insist the new town built will be designed to resemble the federal capital Islamabad and will include modern housing, sewage and drinking water.

Earthquake survivors caught in limbo - from June.

[neoblues]

6. Good Info...

Just what I was looking for, thx.

[Terran1212]

4. I heard Cuba sent the most doctors

and stayed the longest.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Just got the latest

from Refugees International in their informational email.

http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/8921/

Pakistan: Local NGOs an Untapped Resource for Earthquake Recovery

Contacts: Michael McIntyre and Timothy G. Connolly
[e-mail] or 202.828.0110

Local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continue to have a critical and necessary role to play in the recovery and reconstruction of the affected regions in post-earthquake Pakistan. The skills and experience of these organizations have been severely underutilized by the Government of Pakistan and its international partners. All those involved in recovery and reconstruction need to engage more effectively with local NGOs and civil society groups.

snip

Now, eight months after the catastrophic earthquake, the government and its international partners continue to go beyond the stage of meeting immediate needs and to focus on long-term reconstruction. Field visits and discussions with local NGO representatives in November 2005 and April 2006 revealed that these groups had yet to be integrated into the post-relief planning process. Their comments suggested that the government body coordinating the response, the Pakistan Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), continued to struggle with information flow, leaving both their own implementing partners and local citizens confused about what policies and procedures were in effect. For example, according to ERRA itself, over 82,000 complaints have been filed against the housing reconstruction compensation program alone, yet no guidelines are in place for their resolution. The lack of clarity is hampering the overall effort to deliver critical services to the populations in need and at risk, and threatens to cause a loss of confidence on the part of those most affected by the disaster.

While international organizations participating in the UN-ERRA Early Recovery Plan were strongly urged to incorporate local and national groups into their implementation strategies, it is unclear how much weight was actually given to their inclusion during the ERRA approval process. Selected local groups were given a significant role in managing integrated recovery efforts, particularly housing reconstruction, through an alliance between the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and the World Bank. This US$100 million loan program targets thirty-one union councils, and builds upon an existing five-year relationship between the Bank and seven local non-governmental organizations engaged in economic development and micro-finance programs at the community level. Since this remains the only locally-managed recovery effort not under the direction of either the government or the military, RI is concerned that local groups continue to be marginalized in the planning and implementation process.


More at link.