Pakistan: Balochistan Earthquake – Operation Update #1, DREF No. MDRPK021 – Pakistan

a. Situation Analysis

Description of the disaster

An earthquake struck Pakistan’s Balochistan province near Harnai on Thursday, October 7, 2021, with a magnitude of 5.9, striking early in the morning around 03:02 local time when people were sleeping in their homes. According to PDMA-Balochistan, heavy damage was reported in Harnai district and minor damage in Sibi and Quetta cities. The landslides blocked roads to the affected area, disrupting rescue and recovery efforts. Since most of the homes in the affected area were built with mud and stone, there was a constant risk of complete demolition in the event of further aftershocks. The successive aftershocks perpetuated the painful situation in the affected areas; The dangers of sudden collapse of homes have forced residents to choose to stay outdoors at night. According to area authorities, most of the deaths were caused by the collapse of roofs and walls. Additional secondary data reported human and animal losses, injuries, severely damaged homes, communication channels, roads, and bridges. Moreover, the earthquake killed at least 21 people and injured more than 300. It seems that most of the damage has affected the Harnai district where about 500 mud houses collapsed, and a large number of buildings were damaged, displacing hundreds of people.

Harnai is a remote area located about 168 km from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province. The earthquake severely affected the Union Councils (UCs) Sadar 1, Sadar 2 in the Harnai District. Due to the remoteness of the area, the authorities faced hurdles in the initial response as some roads were closed due to landslides.

Summary of the current response

Host National Assembly overview

The PRCS, with more than 150 NHQ-level staff, seven regional/state branches, more than 70 district branches and rosters of active volunteers, has the capacity to deploy rapid response personnel at the national, regional and district levels to affected areas using expertise. The Palestine Red Crescent Society has strong support departments in place including finance, logistics, procurement, information technology, and transportation. It has wide recognition in the first aid, health, disaster response and WASH programmes. The Palestine Red Crescent Society has a fully operational regional branch with its office in Quetta, consisting of trained human resources and volunteers. The Balochistan branch of the Palestine Red Crescent Society also has a warehouse in Quetta with a disaster preparedness stockpile. The district branch of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society runs a number of regular programs including first aid, health, disaster management, restoring family links, and youth and volunteers. Besides, the branch has experience in implementing the DREF process. In 2020, monsoon floods affected the area and the branch responded with the support of DREF, gaining valuable lessons learned. These included, for example, the strengthening of administrative and procurement processes during emergencies, but also more importantly the need to involve the affected community in planning from the outset. There were also valuable comments from the flood affected communities that assisted the Palestine Red Crescent team in the process.

Once the media reported the earthquake in the early hours of October 7, 2021, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society began developing their response strategies internally, mobilizing resources and coordinating with the PDMA and the authorities in the area. Playing its auxiliary role to the government, the PRCS initiated support from the resources available to affected people by coordinating effectively with the Harnai County Deputy Commissioner (DC) who is also the PRCS president at the county level. The PRCS County Head met with DC Harnai and discussed the situation and immediate needs of those affected. The authorities of the area along with the armed forces started rescue efforts early with the Palestine Red Crescent Society requesting assistance in the form of first aid for earthquake victims and relief materials for the residents out of reach of the area government due to the limited resources available.

In response, the Palestine Red Crescent Society immediately deployed a team of doctors, paramedics, volunteers and three ambulances equipped with medicines to provide immediate assistance in the affected areas. In addition, the team also accompanied the PRCS Regional President in Balochistan and the Regional Disaster Management Director to lead the response. Based on ongoing coordination and the complex needs identified in the initial assessment, the Palestine Red Crescent Society has established a temporary field office in the area to maximize its reach to disaster-affected people in the most time-efficient manner. The initial response covered the following major achievements:

First aid was provided to 105 wounded. The majority of the injuries treated involved the spine, shoulder, arm, foot, ankle and head.

Psychological first aid was provided to 24 families.

Relief items consisting of tents, tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene kits and sleeping bags were distributed to 150 families.

Coordination meetings were held with DC Harnai and other stakeholders.

The real-time emergency needs assessment including situation analysis was jointly ongoing by the Palestine Red Crescent Society field team and the National Disaster Response Team (NDRT) deployed in the affected area.

Activate the Emergency Operations Center at the NHQ and PHQ levels.

Coordination was on-going between the National Intellectual Property Committee, the National Red Cross Centre, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Movement partners within the country.

IFRC GO has been updated.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society support was requested on the basis of the geographical distribution of the most affected community centers in the area, Sadar 1, Sadar 2.

An overview of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement in the country

The delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (CD) and the Regional Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (APRO) provide technical support to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The Palestine Red Crescent Society continues to coordinate with partner National Societies within the country on the current response to the earthquake while regularly updating all partners through status reports and other existing mechanisms. A detailed operational briefing was conducted with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and psychosocial support points within the country to further discuss the disaster and the proposed response of the Palestine Red Crescent Society. The Palestine Red Crescent Society did not need to obtain bilateral support from partners for this process.

The IFRC monitored the situation through close contact with counterparts in the Palestinian Red Crescent National Committee, stakeholders and in-country contact and rehabilitation focal points for coordinated planning and response with the launch of the Design, Reform and Development Framework. In addition, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Palestinian Red Crescent coordinated with partners within the country and kept them informed.

Overview of actors outside the Red Cross and Red Crescent in the country

The operation was led and coordinated by the district administration, while Pakistan Army, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and PDMA Balochistan supported as needed and mandates. Islamic Aid and some national NGOs under the umbrella of PDMA-Balochistan have helped earthquake affected families and survivors according to their powers and abilities. The contributions of the Palestine Red Crescent Society were coordinated with others through close coordination with the district administration.

To overcome challenges, initial government assistance provided includes:

Distribution of non-food items including 200 tents, 2500 blankets, 100 sleeping bags, 155 quilts and 3000 hygiene kits. In addition, 100 schools have been designated as shelters for those whose homes were completely damaged.

The Federal Government under the Ehsas Program has announced the allocation of 12,000 Pakistani rupees per family in the affected union councils in the Harnai district. This support is ongoing under the Ehsas Program.

PDMA also distributed some relief items, tents, blankets and food to the affected people.

A medical emergency has been declared at Quetta Civil Hospital.

PDMA has sent heavy machinery and rescue teams to the affected areas of Quetta to pick up the debris and clear the area.

The Pakistani army has airlifted a number of seriously injured people by helicopter to Quetta.

Military doctors and paramedics treated the wounded in the earthquake-affected areas.

On October 15, 2021, the PDMA declared a state of emergency in Harnay County.

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