Emergency Shelter for Earthquake Victims

ReliefWeb Links

www.reliefweb.int

South Asia Earthquake

USAID Earthquake Fact Sheet

Updates: Shelter & Non-Food

Earthquake Map Centre

UN Joint Logistics Centre

Pakistan Quake

Pakistan: Earthquake disaster - Situation overview map as of 19 October) - from MapAction

Who's Working

Oxfam

South Asia earthquake

BBC News in depth

South Asia Quake

USAID

South East Asia Earthquake

Quake - "UN's worst nightmare"

New York Times

Asia

Christian Science Monitor

Key to quake aid: choppers

International Committee of the Red Cross

South Asia Earthquake

Maps of Earthquake Area

International Rescue Committee

Special Report: Critical Aid for Earthquake Survivors in Pakistan

Wikipedia

2005 Kashmir Earthquake

Based on my consversation with Kathleen Quain, who is deeply involved in seeking to mobilize emergency shelter and support for the millions left homeless by the massive eqarthquake in Northern Pakistan and Kashmir.

In the near future, separate, but connected blogs, will be set up for each of the main areas of immediate need: shelter, communications, heat, water and food - and this overview will not even begin to address the massive issue of food - as does medical care, for which the information and communications structure will play a vital role

With a harsh winter only weeks away, the provision of shelter and sources of heat and energy is perhaps the most urgent of the needs, along with establishment of information and communication networks and massive public health, freshwater and nutritional concerns that also need immediate attention.

Shelter

Design considerations
The rocky, mountainous terrain makes it impractical to assemble tents that require poles to be sunk in the ground, so structural support for tents would need to be from free-standing wooden, metal or fiberglass poles, such as geodesic domes.

Material requirements

• Manufactured tents -
  
  
• Heavy canvas - massive quantities
  
  
• Canvas Tools & Peripherals
  
  
• Poles - wood, metal (aluminum), fiberglass
  
  
• Pole-cutting tools
  
  
• Rope & heavy duty twine
  
  
• Heavy Blankets - massive quantities

Information & Communication Networks

• Wi-fi hubs
  
  
• Hand-held wireless computers
  
  
• GPS devices
  
  
• Common, Interoperable GIS framework
  
  
• Technical and logistics support
  
  
• Digital cameras - still & video
  
  
• Digital audio recorders
  
  
• Wireless notebooks
  
  
• CD/DVD write capacity
  
  
• Battery-operated printers
  
  
• Satellite uplink facilities & support
  
  
• Photovoltaic battery chargers

Energy & Heat

• Passive Solar
  
  
• Heavy duty clear plastic - massive quantities
  
  
• Rocks as heat mass
  
  
• Designs & support for heat tranfer
  
  
• Solar orientation of entrances and windows
  
  
• Photovoltaic panels
  
  
• Storage batteries
  
  
• Solar Box Cookers
  
  
• Design and assembly instructions
  
  
• Heavy duty aluminum foil - large quantities
  
  
• Biogas from sewage and animal waste composting

Fresh Water

• Rainwater collection
  
  
• Heavy duty plastic barrels - large quantities
  
  
• Heavy duty plastic pipes - large quantities
  
  
• Closed-loop remediation of sewage
  
  
• Composting toilets
  
  
• Construction & maintenance support

That's all I have time to write now, as I need to prepare to leave very soon for an Iftar at Masjid al-Farah that will include a celebration of the Jewish festival of Sukkot:

"The simultaneous observance of Ramadan and Sukkot, two major holidays in the Muslim and Jewish traditions, provides those of us who have been reaching out to each other's communities a unique opportunity to deepen our mutual understanding and respect for one another and our faiths."