Post-Disaster Reconstruction Mission in Pakistan

Verified

Added on  2023/06/03

|14
|3367
|206
AI Summary
The report covered post-disaster reconstruction mission of Federal relieve commission (FRC) in Pakistan after the earthquake disaster in 2005 that left thousands of people homeless, dead and others with severe injuries. RFC main mission after the outcome of earthquake was to provide relief and reinstating misplaced citizens back to their homes to start a new life. Several factors like corporations, support from other nations and different non-governmental organizations led to its success.

Contribute Materials

Your contribution can guide someone’s learning journey. Share your documents today.
Document Page
1
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
Name
Course
School

Secure Best Marks with AI Grader

Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
Document Page
2
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
1.0 Executive Summary
The report covered post-disaster reconstruction mission of Federal relieve commission (FRC)
in Pakistan after the earthquake disaster in 2005 that left thousands of people homeless, dead and
others with severe injuries. RFC main mission after the outcome of earthquake was to provide
relief and reinstating misplaced citizens back to their homes to start a new life. Several factors
like corporations, support from other nations and different non-governmental organizations led to
its success. The success had impacts to the people as majority of people settled back to their
normal lives within shortest period and further strategies implemented to curb future massive
destructions. However, poor infrastructure and insufficient security were the major challenges
faced by the RFC in their mission. Although the organization overcame the challenges
successful, it slowed own the responses and took more time to be completed.
1.2 Key Findings
2005 Pakistan’s earthquake disaster killed over 86,000 people and injured more than
69,000 with over hundred thousand families being left homeless.
Over 600,000 houses, 6,400 km of road network, 6,298 education facilities, 350
health facilities, 3,994 water supply systems and 949 government buildings were
destroyed
Different nations and organisations like UN and RFC collaborated during this period
to give relief to the disasters victims
1 million tents, 6 million blankets and 400,000 emergency shelters were provided.
Document Page
3
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
Table of Contents
1.0 Executive Summary.................................................................................................................2
1.2 Key Findings.............................................................................................................................2
2.0 Project Description..................................................................................................................4
2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................4
2.2 Description of the Context......................................................................................................4
2.3 Description of Mission/Project...............................................................................................5
3.1 Project Successes......................................................................................................................6
3.2 Impact of Key Successes..........................................................................................................6
4.0 Project Challenges and Failures.............................................................................................7
4.1 Impact of Key Challenges.......................................................................................................7
5.0 Lessons Learned.......................................................................................................................8
5.1 Replicating Key Successes...................................................................................................8
5.2 Avoiding/Overcoming Key Challenges..............................................................................8
6.0 Conclusion..............................................................................................................................11
References.....................................................................................................................................12
Document Page
4
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
2.0 Project Description
2.1 Introduction
Earthquakes are overwhelming common natural disasters that results to significant loss of
lives and damages billions of dollars of property. In the recent years, different countries have
seen several devastating earthquakes like 2005 Pakistan earthquake, 2008-Wenchuan earthquake,
2010 Haitian earthquake, 2010 Japanese earthquakes and 2015 napalms earthquake (Shaffer,
2018). The earthquakes resulted to damage of local eco-system environments and buildings,
psychological trauma of survivors and massive loss of lives. In order to prevent the massive
damages of properties and lives, different organizations came up with reconstruction strategies to
reconstruct the nation again and curb similar damages in future. Furthermore, there have been
increase in earthquake research raising societal awareness of why it is necessary to reduce
significantly the effects of potential earthquakes. Therefore, the paper seeks to study the
reconstruction mission of FRC in 2005 post- disasters, challenges, failures and lesson learned
from the disaster.
2.2 Description of the Context
The Kashmir earthquake occurred in 2005 at 08.05.39 Pakistan standard time in the
Pakistan-administered areas of Kashmir (Britannica, 2018). The epicenter of the magnitude 7.6
quakes was approximately sixty-five miles northeast of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital city.
Despite earthquakes affecting Pakistan, it also affected neighboring regions of Afghanistan,
Chinese Xinjiang and Tajikistan (Mulvey et al., 2008). The overall severity of damage was
considered as the deadliest earthquake to ever hit South Asia. Furthermore, more than sixty-nine

Secure Best Marks with AI Grader

Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
Document Page
5
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
thousand people were injured and at least eighty-six thousand killed (Yasir, 2009). Over 600,000
houses, 6,400 km of road network, 6,298 education facilities, 350 health facilities, 3,994 water
supply systems and 949 government buildings were destroyed (Macleod, 2018). In general, three
million people in Pakistan lost were displaced and lost their homes (Halvorson & Parker
Hamilton, 2010). Furthermore, with the disaster occurring in the winter, survivors faced a great
challenge of surviving in cold mountains without a place to call home. Therefore, the
circumstances of these massive losses of property and relief called upon RFC to launch their
rescue mission.
2.3 Description of Mission/Project
The RFC post-disaster reconstruction main mission was to reinstate the survivors of the
earthquake disaster to their normal lives. The reconstruction mission also provided both financial
and psychological support to homeless people and looked for the best strategies of preventing
such massive damage upon the occurrence of other earthquakes in the future (United Nations,
2018). Furthermore, the after the oucomes of the disaster, RFC collaborated with many
international organizations, nations, and non-governmental organizations in supporting the
victims by offering a relief aid in form of donations and relief supplies that included tents,
blankets, mattresses, food, shelters and medical supplies. In addition, World health organization
(WHO) and United Nations (UN) in partnership with RFC sent relief and workers to the affected
areas. The organizations collaborated with Pakistan military who was in charge of coordinating
the emergency response from the government to look for survivors and assemble them in aid
camps.
Document Page
6
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
3.1 Project Successes
RFC’s mission was successful due to several factors like coordination between different
organizations, materialistic support from other nations and cooperation that existed between
rescuers and survivors. Through materialistic support like disaster helicopters, ambulances and
jets from other nations and hosts, RFC transported evacuated wounded victims to healthcare and
other supplies to different affected regions as infrastructures were completely damaged.
Furthermore, through the proper utilization of the available resources helped the RFC TO attain
its core mission of rescuing and reinstating victims in different regions of Pakistan.
The contingency plan that was put in place by some prefectures long before the
earthquake occurred allowed the RFC to respond quickly after the disaster. Furthermore, RFC
collaborated with UNESCO to provide the advisory services and technical assistance for urgent
assessment of damages and mitigation of loses. RFC also supported international partners,
national authorities, professionals and civil society organizations in their efforts of sustaining
reconstructions.
3.2 Impact of Key Successes
The success of the RFC’s mission reinstated many survivors to their homes and further
provided health support to the victims who were suffering different types of illness because of
exposure to harsh weather conditions. Furthermore, with the economy of Pakistan destroyed
significantly the collaboration of nations to support the nations significantly boosted the nation's
economy. The schools and hospitals were restored back and there were no waves of deaths
experienced indicated an improved rate of cold infections as compared to the previous periods
Document Page
7
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
before the disaster. Furthermore, the success led to 350,000 IDP being housed over the winter
(United Nations, 2018).
4.0 Project Challenges and Failures
The RFC faced several challenges and failures including lack of support from
government officials, lack of coordination with other organizations and agencies and lack of
enough security personnel like police officers and military to manage the disaster.
Lack of coordination was a great challenge with the available military being unfamiliar
with humanitarian principles and lacking experiences of working with RFC and other Non-
governmental organizations. Furthermore, after the disaster most of the government officials
died, others were still in shock and trauma and others had a busy schedule of attending to their
injured relatives and deceased. The unavailable of these government official resulted to shortages
of resources and support that was needed for RFC to run the mission effectively.
4.1 Impact of Key Challenges
The challenges slowed down the post-disaster reconstruction mission of responding
urgently to the disaster and reinstating the victims. The challenges completely interfered with
peer collaboration with World food program (WFP) seeking to exclude some NGO’s as the
communication barriers caused misunderstanding of needs and capacities of victims. However,
the challenges exposed some loopholes that existed in RFCs and need to be addressed. In
addition, vulnerabilities like militaries lacking experience in handling humanitarian
functionalities created a room for trainings.

Paraphrase This Document

Need a fresh take? Get an instant paraphrase of this document with our AI Paraphraser
Document Page
8
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
5.0 Lessons Learned
5.1 Replicating Key Successes
Key successes were observed whereby the FRC had within days taken charge of the
situation. According to Rathore et al. (2008) the collapse of the civil order, the harsh weather
conditions and the disaster scale in the areas which were affected called for a mechanism of
response which was in a position of providing a quick method of making decisions and executing
directives efficiently on the ground. The commission implemented and conceived a plan for
national action that was elaborate in ensuring coherent end-states, policies, spelling out domains
and a response to all the key players and stakeholders. In addition, the action plan provided
compensation of finances for all people who survived the disaster which accumulated to several
billion rupees (Sullivan & Hossain, 2010).
Synchronization and coordination of inter-agencies of efforts of relief were maintained
through strategic meetings of the group leaders which integrated the United Nations cluster
approach into the strategy implemented by the FRC, with an aim for the development of a
common picture for operation and guidelines for each concerned agency. Within the FRC, two
wings were distinct, the civilian and the military. The military was tasked with responsibilities of
undertaking relief and rescue operations, while the civilian wing was comprised of ministerial
coordinators and representatives and had the responsibility of looking after inter-agency and
inter-department issues (Ehring, Razik, & Emmelkamp, 2011).
5.2 Avoiding/Overcoming Key Challenges
Key challenges were faced during the response including maintenance of law and order,
slow response to the disaster, lack of helipads and runways for aircraft and helicopters offering
Document Page
9
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
assistance and poor management of the consequences. A four-fold strategy was undertaken,
which comprised of reconstruction and rehabilitation and recovery, consequence management,
rescue and relief, and search. The FRC’s operations were focused on relief, rescue and search,
while the second agency was focused on addressing reconstruction and rehabilitation needs, with
the second agency being the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (ERRA).
Various simultaneous activities for relief were instantly activated due to the resource constraints
which included the provision of relief goods, medical help, damage control and evacuating the
injured.
Additional response elements included management of the people who were displaced,
economic and social fallout and the address on psychosocial trauma. There was a strict
maintenance of law and order whereby the civic order was restored. Throughout the mission, the
government’s vision and leadership ensured the provision of impetus to the FRC, the republic,
donors, foreign governments and concerned government departments including the armed forces.
Voluntary organizations and the world community were generous, including the international
organizations, men and women and the work of volunteers (Ali et al., 2012). Specifically, donors
offered assistance and support in the provision of relief to the victims of the earthquake. In
addition, the spontaneous outpouring of generosity and compassion by the Pakistan people was a
great success. Altogether, voluntary relief workers to local NGO’s, the Pakistan diaspora and
soldiers assisted the mission. Furthermore, the army in the Pakistan armed forces provided the
backbone of the efforts for relief with a high degree of implementation, execution, coordination
and cooperation. In responding to the earthquake, the world community provided relief items
including water filtration plants, engineering equipment, field hospitals and helicopters thus
offering assistance to the earthquake-affected people of Pakistan (Basharat et al., 2014).
Document Page
10
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
Solutions that are people-centered must be found so as to overcome the challenges in
future. According to Benini et al. (2009) all people worldwide should remind themselves
constantly that the recovery path is not their responsibility to its determination, but for the
victims of the disaster who experienced the losses and suffered greatly. Also, all local United
Nations and Non-Governmental Organizations should be registered whereby the information
should be updated regularly to avoid keeping of information that is outdated. Disaster response
knowledge should also be increased among the general public and within the society.
New strategies should also be developed for preparedness to disaster and be considered.
It was also noted that there was great inaccessibility to the disaster-prone areas with links to
roads being difficult to access, therefore, landing strips for aircraft and helipads for helicopters
should be constructed in areas that are prone to disasters especially earthquakes, whereby
enhanced radar communication for aircraft should be assured. According to Amin and Han
(2009) mechanisms which are appropriate should be established to enhance the tracking down of
the flow of aid from the source to the end-users and the information publication should be
maintained as it is crucial to transparency.
The media should also be taken on board for data sharing, continuous interaction and the
provision of access to the general public through live broadcasts of the catastrophe (Chan, 2009).
Furthermore, United Nations adequate funding is critical and should be enhanced for the
enablement of an international response that is swift. Moreover, the decision making process
should be very swift whereby district and provincial leaders must coordinate and cooperate in the
execution of their roles. Where it adds delay, red tape should also be cut through. All
stakeholders including donors and international organizations should be taken into the

Secure Best Marks with AI Grader

Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
Document Page
11
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
confidence of the government. Lastly, there should be an agency for disaster management that
operates full time and has contingency plans for an effective and quick response to disasters like
earthquakes (Buttenheim, 2009). Therefore, ad hoc arrangements should be avoided as they may
not work in all circumstances.
6.0 Conclusion
After such a massive disaster, it will take Pakistan decades for reconstruction although
the victims remain hopeful and grateful. The victims have continued with their daily lives, adults
have been busy rebuilding and preserving their lives which were shattered and children attend
school. Somehow, the faith of the victims has remained strong, with a sense of peace showing on
their faces. Although the natives have so far not been emotionally strong, physically, they are
able and fit to move on with their lives and accept the occurrences and losses of the disaster.
What is important for the victims is moving on with life and try to reconstruct the lost glory of
Pakistan and be in a position to handle such disasters in future.
The Pakistan people have since been aware that the sustained over-dependence on foreign
aid to get back on their feet may not bear fruits and that as the winter moves in, many more lives
may be lost in the process. In the process of the earthquake and reconstruction mission, Kashmir
lost a large part of its generation, so the victims and other residents at large need to be adaptable
to change. The Pakistan country learned its lesson the hard way, with the victims understanding
that to rebuild their lives, a long and tedious process is underway filled with ups and downs.
Document Page
12
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
References
Ali, M., Farooq, N., Bhatti, M. A., & Kuroiwa, C. (2012). Assessment of prevalence and
determinants of posttraumatic stress disorder in survivors of earthquake in Pakistan using
Davidson Trauma Scale. Journal of affective disorders, 136(3), 238-243.
Amin, M. T., & Han, M. Y. (2009). Water environmental and sanitation status in disaster relief
of Pakistan’s 2005 earthquake. Desalination, 248(1-3), 436-445.
Basharat, M., Rohn, J., Baig, M. S., & Khan, M. R. (2014). Spatial distribution analysis of mass
movements triggered by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in the Northeast Himalayas of
Pakistan. Geomorphology, 206, 203-214.
Benini, A., Conley, C., Dittemore, B., & Waksman, Z. (2009). Survivor needs or logistical
convenience? Factors shaping decisions to deliver relief to earthquakeaffected
communities, Pakistan 2005–06. Disasters, 33(1), 110-131.
Britannica. (2018). Kashmir earthquake of 2005. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Kashmir-earthquake-of-2005
Buttenheim, A. (2009). Impact evaluation in the post-disaster setting: A conceptual discussion
in the context of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake (No. 2009-5). International Initiative for
Impact Evaluation (3ie).
Chan, E. Y. (2009). Why are older peoples' health needs forgotten post-natural disaster relief in
developing countries? A healthcare provider survey of 2005 Kashmir, Pakistan
earthquake. American journal of disaster medicine, 4(2), 107-112.
Document Page
13
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
Ehring, T., Razik, S., & Emmelkamp, P. M. (2011). Prevalence and predictors of posttraumatic
stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and burnout in Pakistani earthquake recovery
workers. Psychiatry research, 185(1-2), 161-166.
Halvorson, S. J., & Parker Hamilton, J. (2010). In the aftermath of the Qa'yamat: 1 the Kashmir
earthquake disaster in northern Pakistan. Disasters, 34(1), 184-204.
doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2009.01124.x
Macleod, A. (2018). Early recovery from disaster: the Pakistan earthquake | Forced Migration
Review. Retrieved from https://www.fmreview.org/humanitarianreform/macleod
Mulvey, J. M., Awan, S. U., Qadri, A. A., & Maqsood, M. A. (2008). Profile of injuries arising
from the 2005 Kashmir earthquake: the first 72 h. Injury, 39(5), 554-560.
doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2007.07.025
Nations, U. (2018). Pakistan 2005 Earthquake: Early recovery framework - With preliminary
costs of proposed interventions - Pakistan. Retrieved from
https://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/pakistan-2005-earthquake-early-recovery-
framework-preliminary-costs-proposed
Rathore, F. A., Farooq, F., Muzammil, S., New, P. W., Ahmad, N., & Haig, A. J. (2008). Spinal
cord injury management and rehabilitation: highlights and shortcomings from the 2005
earthquake in Pakistan. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 89(3), 579-585.
Shaffer, A. (2018). https://hellogiggles.com. Retrieved from https://hellogiggles.com/news/6-
biggest-earthquakes-last-5-years/
Sullivan, K. M., & Hossain, S. M. (2010). Earthquake mortality in Pakistan. Disasters, 34(1),
176-183.

Paraphrase This Document

Need a fresh take? Get an instant paraphrase of this document with our AI Paraphraser
Document Page
14
POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION MISSION IN PAKISTAN
Yasir, A. (2009). The political economy of disaster vulnerability: A case study of Pakistan
earthquake 2005.
1 out of 14
circle_padding
hide_on_mobile
zoom_out_icon
[object Object]

Your All-in-One AI-Powered Toolkit for Academic Success.

Available 24*7 on WhatsApp / Email

[object Object]