UN to launch earthquake flash appeal - huge needs remain

The United Nations is preparing to launch a Flash Appeal for victims of the Bam earthquake that struck 10 days ago and killed about 32,000 people. The decision followed a request by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Preparation for the Appeal is being conducted jointly with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), and aims to address urgent and immediate needs in affected areas. This is to ensure smooth transition from the emergency phase to medium and long-term recovery. "This won't address medium and long-term recovery issues but will help set the stage for it," Kamal Kishore, the UNDP production coordinator for the UN Flash Appeal, told IRIN. The Flash Appeal is based on a rapid needs assessment, which is being carried out to identify the needs for the next three months. The main areas are: food and logistics; shelter; cultural heritage; water and sanitation; health and nutrition; special needs of vulnerable groups including woman and children; education; livelihood recovery and rehabilitation and coordination, security, telecommunications, information, monitoring and evaluation. The most immediate need is for temporary shelter. With some experts saying that it could take up to two years to rebuild the city, interim shelter is vital, but this is an area still under much debate. A major problem is where the survivors should be housed - many are unwilling to leave the ruins of their homes. There is also a fear that if survivors are moved and rubble is cleared, in some areas there will be no obvious landmarks left for people to remember where their properties used to be. There is a suggestion that prefabricated buildings should be built with long-term use in mind - they could be dismantled and used as permanent shelters when needed.The long and laborious task of debris removal is the first step towards rebuilding the city - although there have been suggestions that the city of Bam should be moved altogether. "These options for reconstruction all require rigorous scientific and seismological research," Kishore said. About 131 schools in Bam have been destroyed and there are now 20,000 - 30,000 students without a school, ten per cent of whom have lost family. For this reason, the emphasis is on special psychological care, for both teachers and students. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) will be setting up 24 tents that will provide psycho-social activities in times of trauma, for children and their families. The programme will include group sessions and recreational activities. The Ministry of Health has been undertaking disease surveillance for 17 priority diseases in all 12 zones of the city, and the Deputy Minister of Health is chairing daily meetings. WHO is also making sure that guidelines and standards on disease control and surveillance are being met. In response to the earthquake, 13 field hospitals have been established by Belgium, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, the US, and the IFRC with more than 580 doctors and nurses. The IFRC field hospital will remain for one year as a central referral hospital for the whole Bam area. A shortage of water tankers has been identified as another major problem, although it is expected that the arrival of bladder tanks will help the situation. Even though the water supply in Bam has not yet been biologically analysed, it is believed to be clean and potable. This is mainly due to available chlorine gas for sterilisation and the fact that most water comes from deep boreholes with no sewage nearby. Of the 11 boreholes, located outside the city which provide water to the residents, nine are still fully functioning. There are two main lines that carry water to the city, through a distribution network. One of them is out of order, and the network is providing water to 20 per cent of the city, while other parts are supplied from eighty water trucks and 60 distribution points.. In the surrounding sixty villages, 20 wells have been damaged and they are now being supplied by seventy tankers. The United Nations has praised the work of the Iranian Red Crescent Society for their 'tremendous' effort. This is a sentiment echoed by many of the international aid teams in Bam. "The IRCS have done an excellent job, they're the main providers," Peter Morris, deputy team leader of US Agency for International Development (USAID), told IRIN. Up to 9,000 IRCS volunteers have flooded into Bam to help with everything from medical care to the distribution of food.