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Islamic
Republic of Iran
On
December 26, 2003, an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck Kerman province in southeastern
Iran. The number of victims, initially said to be a few thousand, gradually increased,
and according to the January 17th announcement by the Iranian government, approximately
41,000 were killed and 30,000 were injured, with over 70,000 losing their homes.
PWJ decided to implement emergency relief for this massive disaster on the day
it occurred, dispatching its first team to Iran the following day. Reports from
this team urged immediate action to support people who were seeking refuge on
the roadside amid harsh winter weather.
Simultaneous
with the dispatch of its emergency relief team, PWJ's Tokyo headquarters, in collaboration
with other NGOs in the field, procured supplies such as blankets, mineral water
and heater-stoves. Furthermore, 500 tents were obtained and transported by air
from Pakistan as emergency shelter. These tents were set up to form a " tent
village" on December 31, five days after the earthquake. After the distribution
of supplies within the tent village, daily commodities were provided to victims
in the heavily devastated areas of the city. Based on assessment reports conducted
by female staff in the area, sanitary materials and underwear were supplied, as
part of meticulous support for women victims of the earthquake.
By late January,
attempts began to overcome the catastrophe and rebuild what was lost. PWJ offered
prefab schoolhouses in order to help restart schooling. Of the seven schools scheduled
to be set up, one was completed by end of January. Also, with approximately 85%
of
buildings in the area destroyed, the importance of rebuilding houses with safer
anti-quake structures was recognized. Therefore, in addition to providing temporary
schoolhouses, PWJ's activity plans for 2004 include the holding of a workshop
on anti-earthquake measures, targeted at local people involved in construction. |
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