Three million people were spending their thirtieth night in the open as the one-month anniversary of the devastating South Asia earthquake passed and relief workers continued a “marathon sprint” to save lives as winter closed in on the mountainous region, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said at UN Headquarters Tuesday.
In the last 10 days, relief agencies and Pakistan Government officials had made “extraordinary progress” as they encountered “extraordinary challenges”, Mr. Egeland said as he provided an update on the humanitarian assistance delivered to the millions of people affected by the 7,6-magnitude earthquake, whose epicentre struck 95 kilometres north-east of Islamabad on 8 October and devastated parts of northern Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.
The clearing of roads blocked by landslides had let vehicles deliver supplies and food that had previously been ferried only by helicopter, mule or on foot, he said. Tens of thousands more people were receiving food, supplies and services like sanitation every week.
About 334.000 tents had been delivered while 322.000 more were in the pipeline for delivery. Relief workers had distributed about 3,2 million blankets and 4,8 million were in the pipeline. Much of the progress had been achieved in the lower regions of the mountainous region and at least 200.000 people – many of whom would not leave their ancestral homes – remained above the snowline with limited access to aid.
Relief officials were racing against the onset of the harsh winter anticipated by meteorological organizations, he said. Weather experts expected about a foot of snow around the earthquakes epicentre in November, 5 feet in December, and 8 feet in January.
– This is the race against the clock that we have been talking about for some time, Mr. Egeland said, adding that the whole region would be covered with snow in two to four weeks. The official death toll had reached 73.000 and would likely increase to 90.000.
He reported some progress on funding, with United Nations relief agencies having received about 84 million US dollar of the 133 million that had been pledged. That was against a larger backdrop of 1 billion dollar (6,2 milliarder DKR) in aid commitments, much of which had been earmarked for reconstruction.
Mr. Egeland added that donors were now approaching the end of the budget year and many had empty pockets.
If necessary, national parliaments should convene to create the necessary funding mechanisms for earthquake aid. – Our biggest worry is the cold and bad weather which starts this week … that we will run out of resources in the middle of the marathon unless we get more money, Mr. Egeland concluded.
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