Days since October 8th Earthquake:221

Summary and Highlights

• The UNJLC Cargo Movement Coordination Cell will close on May 31st as UNHAS is ceasing its operations.
• UNJLC and HIC have developed a QuakeZone MapKit which can be used to create maps with collected data and to build on existing spatial data.
• The AJK Camp Management Organisation will announce this week whether the population of 18 villages susceptible to seismic activity will be moved to camps in Muzaffarabad. Should this happen, the IDP caseload will rise to approximately 90,000.

 
Contents

1.    Operations Update
2.    UNJLC Mission Update
3.    UNJLC Mapping
4.    Road Access
5.    IDP Returns
6.    Warehousing
7.    Aviation Update: UNHAS

1. Operations Update

In line with the transition from relief to recovery, all Clusters with the exception of the Protection Cluster will be closed. Working Groups are being set up and will closely cooperate with ERRA, line ministries and other government entities during the recovery phase. Matters related to logistics will continue to be discussed biweekly in the Logistics Forum.

2. UNJLC Mission Update

With the closure of the UNHAS mission on May 31st, the UNJLC Cargo Movement Coordination Cell (CMCC) will also close. The CMCC was established to coordinate the free transport of relief goods and is responsible for processing and prioritising movement requests for air or surface transport. UNJLC's current implementing partners are ATLAS Logistique and UNHAS. Since ATLAS is only providing transport for cargo that has been forecasted already or for projects funded by ECHO and UNHAS is closing down, there is no need for the services of the CMCC past May 31st.

3. UNJLC Mapping

The Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) and UNJLC have developed the QuakeZone MapKit, which is a CD that allows the creation of maps with newly collected data and building on existing spatial data. This toolkit is a compilation of HIC and UNJLC spatial data sets and includes basic Geographic Information System (GIS) software. A training programme on the QuakeZone Mapkit will be conducted in Mansehra, Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Islamabad. Participants will learn how to gather data on location attributes using a GPS device and/or settlement list and how to transfer these data into a GIS to produce a map using their collected data and existing data layers. The trainings in the three hubs will take place on 23rd and 24th of May; the training in Islamabad takes place on 30th and 31st of May. Applications for Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Islamabad are still welcome. Please send an e-mail to CJ Hendrix at unjlcmapping@gmail.com by Friday, May 19th, 09.00, specifying name, agency, projected duration of stay in the earthquake affected area and experience with MS Excel, GPS and/or GIS.

UNJLC continues to collect data on road conditions. Currently, special attention is given to obtaining data on tertiary roads as the status of these roads is less known than the status of primary and secondary roads. Many UNJLC maps have been updated over the past month. Any organisation wanting updated maps can submit a map request to unjlcmapping@gmail.com. UNJLC road assessments, conditions updates and maps can be found at ->Road Conditions

4. Road Access

The rains that occurred on the evening of Tuesday, May 16th appear to have triggered few changes in the status of primary roads. However, caution is advised as there might be rocks on the road and the possibility of delayed landslides. UNJLC road assessments, conditions updates and maps can be found at ->Road Conditions.

5.IDP Returns

The AJK Camp Management Organisation (CMO) will announce this week whether the inhabitants of 18 villages (as opposed to 17 reported earlier) located in areas susceptible to seismic activity will be moved to camps in Muzaffarabad. According to the latest estimations, this would bring the total caseload of IDPs in Muzaffarabad to approximately 90,000 meaning that there would be a need for additional NFI and food. Storage for NFI in Muzaffarabad is already limited.

In Bagh, the deadline (May 15th) given by landowners to vacate one of the camps has expired. Negotiations on the designation of a residual camp are still ongoing.

In Mansehra, IOM is currently returning around 250 families per day from camps of under 50 families. This number can be broken down as follows: 100 families from Mansehra, 50 families from Balakot and 100 families from Bara Koh in Islamabad. All are moving to the Kaghan Valley.

6. Warehousing

WFP has announced that it will continue to manage interagency warehousing services until July 12th. The possibility of an extension is being investigated.

7. Aviation Update: UNHAS

Helicopter capacity has remained stable over the past week. UNHAS has confirmed that it will cease its helicopter operations for both cargo movement and passengers by May 31st. The UNHAS passenger schedule and booking procedures can be found at ->UNHAS booking.

As UNHAS will be closing down, it has several items of equipment available for sale. For specifications, please contact UNHAS at Islamabad.unhas@wfp.org.