With temperatures below freezing point at 5,000 feet and above during daytime, and dropping to–15 degrees Celsius at night surviving the bitter chill has been a major concern for everyone living and working at high altitudes. According to a rapid assessment by the UN, one-tenth of the tents in which almost all the survivors are presently living are too thin to withstand the winter. The report also says that some 75 percent of the households require additional protection to get through the winter. Items such as blankets, quilts, plastic sheeting, and tarpaulins are urgently needed.
Fragile Tents
Meanwhile, families are struggling to keep their children warm by beating the snow off their fragile tents with sticks. Dozens of tents, including one housing a school and a mosque, collapsed under the weight of 10 inches of snow that blanketed the small village close to Muzaffarabad.
“Look at me. I am wearing just one sweater and this one shawl. It's not enough to cover myself. The children are falling sick. We were told we would get additional blankets but they still haven't come,” said a shivering mother of five, after volunteers helped put her family's tent back up.
Children huddled around a fire in the camp's communal kitchen, set up in a destroyed house where food was being prepared in a big tureen. Residents said they received ample rations of rice, grain and lentils, but lacked enough warm clothes and good tarpaulins to insulate and waterproof their flimsy tents. “The weather is too cold and the snow is still falling,” said a female camp resident. “These tents are not strong enough. We are in big trouble.”
There were no confirmed fatalities from the cold, but staff at a Muzaffarabad field hospital said it is constantly treating patients for cold-related illnesses. “If better conditions are not provided in the tents, there could be another disaster.”
35 Children Die of Pneumonia
Pneumonia has claimed lives of at least 35 children in three mountain villages of Kashmir since heavy snowfalls. Regional health director said temperature in these areas had plummeted as low as minus 30 Celsius. He said 28 children had died in remote Gultari area on the Line of Control.
However, Northern Areas regional council representative put the number at 35 and appealed for help, “I have written to the civilian and military authorities to do something,” he said.
He said medicines were available in Skardu, but these could only be carried by helicopter. Aid workers expect a flood of new cases of respiratory infection once the weather allows people to venture out.
More Deaths Feared
The threat of a wave of additional deaths among earthquake survivors is becoming more acute with each passing day as families continue to arrive in relief shelters, fleeing the sudden advance of winter.
The danger arises from the cold, poor sanitary conditions and inadequate nutrition. The ingredients for life-threatening illnesses are all to be found in the camps. Makeshift, unsanitary cooking pots lie in the dirt in front of each tent. Poor diets and a lack of clean water have left many weak and vulnerable. “The hygienic situation is fairly deplorable, so I would have to say that water and sanitation is our main priority right now,” Unicef Health Officer said. Education is also essential. Children are taught to wash their hands with soap and water regularly. These simple things are crucial for maintaining health and preventing more deaths.
UN Relief Priorities for the Winter
With the harsh winter fast approaching, the UN emergency office on December 6 laid out its priorities for bringing relief to the earthquake survivors, including continued assistance for up to 380,000 people who choose to remain in their homes in remote locations.
Since the quake, some 410,000 tents and 3.1 million blankets have been distributed, 300,000 children have been vaccinated, almost 90 percent of water needs are now being covered in planned camps, and more than 2,000 School in a Box kits are being handed out. Much, however, remains to be done to consolidate and sustain these gains especially as winter closes in, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
Children Get Warm Clothing Kits
Children living above the snowline are at particular risk from acute respiratory infections in any winter season, and keeping them warm and dry in the coming months is crucial.
To help keep children warm Unicef delivered the first batch of over 50,000 warm clothing kits specially packed in four sizes each kit containing a padded jacket, a hat or shawl, socks and snow boots. Over 100,000 more kits are on the way. Deliveries to the most remote locations have been prioritized so that the items arrive before the roads are blocked by snowfall. They are being distributed by partner NGOs. In Sudhan Gali in Bagh district, 14,500 kits have been handed out and another 5,400 kits are being distributed in Topi. Children in these areas can be seen wearing their new clothes and brightly-colored boots on their feet.
Two Girls Die in Tent Fire
o minor girls, who had survived the earthquake, died in a blaze in their flimsy tent in a mountain village near Muzaffarabad, police and residents said on Dec 23. The impoverished tent caught fire from a candle which the inmates had left burning as they went to sleep. The tent was reduced to ashes as the blaze flared due to a heap of dry grass dumped close to it. As a result, Saima, 5, and Amna, 2, died and their mother, suffered serious burn wounds and was airlifted to a Kharian hospital.
As night temperatures start dropping below freezing point, many survivors defy warning by aid agencies not to burn fire inside their tents as it can endanger their lives. However, tent fires have claimed lives of a large number of children and adults. |
