 |
On 22nd February 2005, several villages in south-eastern Iran suffered a devastating earthquake. The number of people killed is said to be between 500 and 600. 35,000 people have been affected in forty villages, 30 of these villages have 50 to 60% of the houses destroyed or severely damaged and 10 villages have 100% of the houses destroyed or severely damaged.
Medair responded by having a team in Zarand with in 7 hours of the earthquake. The team carried out an assessment to determine what the emergency relief needs would be. They worked closely with the Red Crescent Society and the Kerman Task Force.
Emergency Needs
Medair distributed the following emergency supplies to 410 needy families:-
- Blankets: Medair distributed 3,000 blankets to the affected villages.
- Carpets: As most families would have received tents from other agencies, we decided to supply carpets to 410 families.
- Distributions of food packages: 410 families received food packages comprising of, 20Kg bag of rice, 5Kg tin of cooking oil, 5Kg of sugar, 2 boxes of tea with 100 satchels in each box, two boxes of washing powder, sanitary towels, four bars of soap and one bottle of dish washer.
- Clothes: 410 children (boys and girls) between the ages of 2-5 years received one pair of pants, top and a warm jacket.
Post Emergency Needs
Medair was requested by the Governor of Zarand to assist them in the education and health sectors. The education sector needed temporary school classrooms to help with the shortfall of classrooms due to so many schools having major structural damage caused by the earthquake. Medair delivered 19 classrooms to the education sector.
The health sector needed temporary latrines and shower units to help the beneficiaries in the camps set up for them.
Medair delivered 100 temporary shower units and 24 latrine units to these camps
At 5:26 am on Friday 26 December 2003, an earthquake struck the ancient Silk Road city of Bam and its surrounding villages, in Kerman Province, south-eastern Iran. Although measuring only 6.7 on the Richter scale, the earthquake had a devastating effect due to its shallow depth and its epicentre being so close to the city. Most buildings in Bam and surrounding villages were made of mud-bricks and were not designed to withstand earthquakes. Virtually all these buildings were severely damaged or destroyed.
The figures issued by the Iranian government say that 26,271 people were killed and an estimated 30,000 were injured in Bam and its surrounding villages out of a pre-earthquake population of 142,000. The quake destroyed 75 percent of buildings in Bam and partially damaged a further 24 percent, leaving more than 75,000 people homeless. Virtually everybody in Bam lost one or more relatives in the disaster, and 2,000 children were orphaned. A further 85,000 people in the region have been affected by the earthquake, due to the loss of economic activity or damage to infrastructure.
|
|
