UNJLC Pakistan Earthquake
BULLETIN No. 23
Period, Friday December 2nd – Monday, December 5th 2005

Summary and Highlights                            Days since October 8th Earthquake: 58

• Security concerns are not significantly hindering the relief effort but individual issues concerning escorts for international staff in Batagram District and theft of supplies from trucks are being followed up. 
• Details on road conditions in Neelum and Kagan Valleys illustrate the precarious nature of access along these corridors and highlights locations where potential bottlenecks may occur as the weather deteriorates.
• Overall status of the helicopter fleet reflects a slight decline for the second consecutive week in both the number of airframes and nominal cargo capacity. However more significant concerns relate to the procurement of sling nets and de-icing equipment to improve operational efficiency.

 
Contents

1.  Security
2.  Roads Update
3.  Field Update: Mansehra
4.  Aviation Update: Helicopter Status

1. Security

The situation with regard to escorts for international staff in the Batagram District of the North West Frontier Province is still to be resolved (see Bulletin 21 item 1). Once further information is available, WFP Security in conjunction with UN DSS, will provide an update detailing the operational procedures agencies will have to follow.

Also of concern, on December 1st, a WFP truck travelling between Havellian to Abbottabad was stopped and approximately 30 bags of wheat flour were stolen before the truck was allowed to continue. WFP have informed the Police who are currently investigating the matter. Agencies are encouraged to report such incidents to the local authorities as soon as possible after an incident and to the logistics cluster.

2. Road Update: Kagan & Neelum Valleys

Along the Neelum Valley road, there are two significant landslides, the Batmang (between Chalpani to Dunga) and Nauseri (Nauseri Bridge to Tithwal). The road is considered open, but it is subject to continuous rockslide activity that requires regular emergency clearance.

For about 5km along the Batmang landslide, the old road is covered by 4-6 meters of infill.  This fill is unstable and currently can only accommodate one-way traffic.  Daily clearance is causing further undercutting leading to more tension on the slope.  The Nauseri landslide stretches between Nauseri and the Line of Control. As for Batmang, the undercut road segment has caused insecure debris upslope that continues to jeopardise any movement along the road.

In the Kagan Valley road trouble spots include Kawai, Paras, and Jared.  Slides are above and below the road with heavy daily rock fall activity.  Traffic is limited to one way in many places. All makeshift or temporary passages along rock debris should be considered as unsafe. Emergency clearance activity is only a temporary solution and reconstruction will be required as soon as possible in the spring.

Both routes are subject to solufluction, the freezing and thawing of the moisture in the soil, which will cause movement on any significantly unstable slope. It is therefore expected that road conditions will deteriorate further as winter goes on.

3. Field Update: Mansehra

Road access in the area is generally reliable, although on November 30th a WFP food convoy returning from Navasabad and Sachakhalan was held up for a few hours due to landslide at Jabori. Pakistani Army engineers subsequently cleared the landslide and the road is now open.

The NGO CARITAS is concentrating its effort covering villages above 5000ft between Dalola and Boi in Abbottabad District to provide shelter and NFI distribution for approximately 35,000 beneficiaries. The programme will run through the winter and may establish a storage site in Boi based on the Forward Area Support Site (FASS) concept developed by the UNJLC/DFID plans team outlined in Bulletins 15, item 1 and Bulletin 17, item 3.

4. Aviation Update: Helicopter Status

Overall helicopter numbers and capacity have decreased slightly for the second consecutive week; this has largely been due to the ongoing departures and scheduled rotations of foreign assets deployed in support of the Government of Pakistan. UNHAS air assets have remained constant for several weeks now, but may expand by three MI-8's over the coming weeks, One Mi-8 will deploy to the operation on December 24th and contracts for two more Mi-8s are being negotiated. One UNHAS Mi-26 will depart after completing its flying hours, but will be replaced by another charted Mi-26. Oxfam's Mi-8 has completed its contract and is now operating under charter for IFRC.

Current issues for the helicopter operation include procurement of sling nets and de-icing equipment. The DFID Chinook operation conducted out of Muzaffarabad demonstrated the impact that sling nets can have in terms of greatly improving the overall lift capacity (see Bulletin 20, item 2). UNHAS currently has twenty nets in use. Twenty more will be deployed soon, plus a further fifty have been procured from the UK. However, this number is still short of the operational requirement of 400; Donors including DFID and USAID have been approached to assist, UNJLC has requested assistance from NATO and WFP is investigating alternative commercial sources as part of a combined attempt to obtain more nets.

A shortage of fuel for helicopters operating out of the forward operating base of Muzaffarabad caused delays on Monday 5th December. This has resulted in helicopters having to return to refuel in Abbottabad thereby increasing the turnaround time between sorties. In order for helicopters to continue to operate it is essential that landing sites are properly maintained over the winter months. To maintain the sites UNHAS has urged all stakeholders involved to ensure that the landing sites they are responsible for are drained, where possible fortified with gravel and ensure snow is either cleared or compressed.