| Updated August 2007
Summary
- On 8 October 2005, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale decimated vast areas of northern Pakistan and northern India.
- The quake severely affected Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province, killing more than 73,000 people and injuring some 128,000 people.
- More than 3.5 million people were made homeless.
- The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has reached around one million people affected by the earthquake, and by 2008 expects the total to rise to 1.5 million through long-term recovery work.
- The British Red Cross has spent £18 million on emergency relief. The DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) appeal raised £40 million of which we received £7.05 million. We raised £5.2 million from the public and £6.5 million from DFID (Department for International Development).
- The British Red Cross has started a recovery project which will be completed in 2009.
Background
On 8 October 2005, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale decimated vast areas of northern Pakistan and northern India. Tremors were felt across the region from Kabul, in Afghanistan to Delhi in India. The quake severely affected areas of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province and caused extensive damage and loss of life in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The epicentre of the quake was close to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. As much as 70 per cent of the Muzaffarabad district, which had a population of close to one million, was devastated by the earthquake.
More than 6,000 schools and colleges were damaged or destroyed by the quake. The official death toll in India was 1,500 and more than 4,500 injured. Most of those killed were in Indian-administered Kashmir. There were four deaths in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and also reports of injuries and structural damage, mainly in the provinces nearest to Pakistan.
The immediate response of the British Red Cross
The British Red Cross was at the forefront of the emergency relief efforts. On 9 October, we launched an emergency appeal which raised £5.2 million from the public. We also received £7.05 million from the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal and £6.5 million from DFID (Department for International Development). The funds contributed to the response of the Pakistan Red Crescent, supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Federation) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The next day, we sent four logisticians to join the Red Cross emergency response team in Pakistan to help with the reception and distribution of emergency relief supplies. This team was replaced each month by a new unit of logisticians until January 2006. In total, we have sent out more than 18 experts, including logisticians, a water and sanitation expert, two health experts, an anaesthetist and a tracing delegate to work with the ICRC.
Since October 2005, we spent an incredible £16.5 million bringing emergency aid and relief items to those affected by the disaster including nearly 200,000 hygiene kits and 6,600 winter tents. The Pakistan government is overseeing the reconstruction of the majority of permanent housing in the affected region. We supported the International Federation and Pakistan Red Crescent to help more than 94,000 people through a second winter by supplying iron sheets, construction kits, thermal blankets and cooking kits.
The earthquake caused considerable loss of agricultural land and productivity in Pakistan and we are helping communities regain their livelihoods in Pakistan. One of the major effects of the disaster was that the majority of households were unable to plant winter wheat due to the emergency. We provided families with seeds, fertilisers and tools so they could grow their own food again.
The response of the wider Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement
The British Red Cross is part of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, which, working hand in hand with the Pakistan Red Crescent and the Pakistan Government, has provided assistance to around one million people. By 2008, the Movement expects to have helped a total of 1.5 million through long-term recovery work.
The total number of major relief items distributed since October 2005 includes: more than 70,000 tents, over 350,000 corrugated galvanized iron sheets, 158,500 tarpaulins, more than 35,000 shelter repair kits, 357,500 quilts, and 220,000 hygiene kits.
Since the beginning of the operation, the Movement has provided basic health care for almost half a million people in NWFP and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
A total of 18 water supply schemes have been repaired by the Pakistan Red Crescent and the International Federation’s water and sanitation teams, bringing clean, drinkable water to almost 80,000 people.
After the quake, ICRC helicopters evacuated about 1,000 injured people from remote areas to Islamabad and the ICRC field hospital in Muzaffarabad. The ICRC has been running a number of basic health units in Pattika, Chinari and Dhanni.
By the end of September 2006, 416 tracing requests, from people seeking relatives missing since the earthquake were submitted either to the ICRC family links website or collected by the ICRC and Pakistan Red Crescent in the field. Out of the tracing requests submitted, 223 cases have been closed altogether.
Recovery plans
The British Red Cross has started a three-year programme in the North West Frontier Province, providing water to six remote mountainous villages in Kohistan. Three irrigation projects are also being carried out in the area.
The Federation aims to complete 16 schools/colleges, 11 health facilities and 14 community centres by the end of 2008. A further 46 water supply schemes are to be repaired over the same period bringing clean drinking water to 160,000 people. The British Red Cross is supporting the re-building of a girls middle school in Mera Bakot.
The Pakistan Red Crescent and Federation will continue to assist 4,500 families per year with seeds, fertilizer and tools until end of 2008. A joint health programme will continue running eight mobile health clinics, which visit 36 locations weekly in remote areas. These will be phased out as permanent government health units become operational.
The ICRC plans to continue supporting the Pakistan Ministry of Health with staff training and supplies in mother and child care. The ICRC is also constructing a Physical Rehabilitation Centre in Muzaffarabad to accommodate the number of disabled people following the quake.
For more information visit the International Federation website at www.ifrc.org or the ICRC website at www.icrc.org | 
