Pakistan: 2 years after the earthquake killed 80,000 people

Two years after the earthquake in Pakistan's northern mountains killed 80,000 people, survivors struggled with landslides, soaring material prices to rebuild their homes but nearly all There is shelter for this winter.

Great efforts to rebuild Pakistan's houses and amenities for 3.5 million people have been judged by international donors to be typical in responding to natural disasters.

About 210,000 earthquake-proof houses have sprung up, another 350,000 are under construction in rugged areas in Kashmir and the border province of northwest Pakistan. However, there are also obstacles. Rain slowed the pace of reconstruction and some international relief organizations had to temporarily evacuate in the summer when several tribal members in the quake area destroyed their offices to show anger about the Pakistani army. Attack the red church in Islamabad.

Currently, only about 6,000 earthquake victims must live in tents, alleviating fears of a harsh humanitarian winter crisis that usually begins in December in the Himalayan mountains.

"There will be no problem in the winter. The whole region has changed," said Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed, Pakistan's vice president of rehabilitation and reconstruction after the earthquake. The official expressed his hope that the construction of most houses will be completed by the end of the year.

The 7.6-magnitude earthquake occurred on the morning of October 8, 2005, burying many of their mud and rock houses and thousands of children in the schools were poorly built.

Efforts by the international community, supported by the Pakistani military, prevented the number of deaths from continuing to increase in the following months.

Challenges for the $ 4.3 billion campaign to rebuild the earthquake area are still very massive: It has to build 6,500 schools, 800 clinics and hospitals, repair 6,400 km of roads, take care of thousands orphaned children, widows and people with injuries caused by earthquakes.

According to Ahmed, donors have done a good job of making a commitment and now Pakistan has rebuilt many houses, although schools and clinics are only ready-made structures. Mr. Ahmed predicted that the reconstruction would be completed in 3 years.

Currently the two towns most affected by the earthquake are Muzaffarabad and Balakot have been erected.

The minister in charge of reconstruction of Pakistan's Kashmir region, Naseem Khan, said the vast area destroyed by the earthquake needed time to recover but there were promising progresses."By now 70% of earthquake survivors have started rebuilding their homes."

Hoai Linh