Muzaffarabad, Pakistan – A year after Kashmir’s mountains bucked and shuddered with South Asia’s deadliest earthquake in centuries, 40,000 survivors face a second Himalayan winter in tents. Another 1.8 million live in temporary shelters that will afford varying degrees of warmth for winter survival, relief agencies say.
Months after the earthquake crisis faded from the headlines – even in Pakistan – relief agencies say few victims have been able to rebuild their homes. As snow again dusts the highest mountains, aid groups are planning a new, urgent campaign to haul food and supplies to remote, shattered villages.
In a year of relief work, “a lot of help has been given to people, but to be honest, we have to say that nothing permanent has been accomplished for them to rebuild their lives,” said Riaz Ahmed, part of a team hustling to improve conditions at one tent camp in the region’s main city, Muzaffarabad.
A haphazard mix of relief teams poured in following the quake a year ago this month that killed at least 75,000 people. Aid came from Pakistan’s government, local charities, international relief agencies, church groups, the U.S. Army and Islamic militant groups. Using helicopters and mule trains, they hauled the essentials of crude shelter to 3.3 million homeless people, many in high, remote mountain valleys. A feared second wave of deaths resulting from winter exposure was averted.
