Military launch emergency shelter programme for high altitude quake survivors

In a bid to address immediate shelter requirements in quake-affected areas of northern Pakistan as the weather rapidly deteriorates, the military is deploying about 180 teams from engineering battalions with shelter repair kits. The plan is to help erect one room for each affected household living at higher altitudes before the snows arrive. "The concept is to construct one 'dry and warm' room for each affected household by utilising retrievable iron roofing sheets and other material for population living between altitudes of 5,000 to 7,000 feet [1,500 -2,100 m]," Tariq Khosa, shelter coordinator at the office of the Federal Relief Commissioner (FRC), said in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Under the project, corrugated iron sheets donated by Pakistan Steel Mills, will also be provided to affected families to rebuild transitional shelter while retrieving some of the material from their demolished houses. Repair kits include tools, corrugated iron, plastic sheeting, wire, nails and insulation for survivors living in the many valleys at high altitudes who will not or cannot leave their communities. More than a month after the deadly earthquake, which killed some 86,000 people and injured over 100,000, it's clear that more than three million people are homeless, mostly in remote and inaccessible areas, creating a huge logistical challenge to get relief supplies up to them before the onset of winter. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), leading the bid to provide emergency shelter provision to quake victims, has already expressed concerns over the time needed to deliver enough tents, as well as their quality as many of the tents so far distributed are non-winterised and of little use in the harsh weather anticipated. Along with the race against weather, aid agencies are handicapped by a lack of funds. According to IOM, the emergency shelter programme planned for November currently faces a shortfall of US $4.55 million. The United Nations reported on Friday that it's flash appeal of $549 million has only received funding commitments of nearly $108 million - just 20 percent of the money needed to provide emergency assistance to survivors. An estimated half a million survivors are living without any shelter in high valleys above the snowline. They will be cut-off when heavy snow starts to fall and will remain so until at least April. IOM warns aid must get to these communities before the end of November otherwise many will perish. Based on three criteria: level of devastation; altitude; and accessibility - civil and military authorities in the Bagh region in quake-affected Pakistani-administered Kashmir, are gearing up to compile a list of vulnerable villages to facilitate the coordination among national and international relief partners. So far, about 150 villages have been identified as high-risk, with around 90 located in the eastern sub-district of Haveli. According to Pakistan's meteorological office, along with the rain, night temperatures are likely to remain below freezing in most parts of earthquake- affected NWFP and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. The widespread winter rainfall may increase the risk of landslides in the area.