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Disaster
Measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale, the earthquake
that devastated the Iranian city of Bam on
26th December 2003 claimed
26,000*
lives, injured
30,000 and left around 75,000 people homeless.
Entire families were crushed to death in their
beds, and around 80% of the buildings in Bam
were badly damaged or reduced to rubble.
Tent Camps
Three months after the devastating earthquake
that almost halved the city’s population,
survivors are trying to piece together their
lives. Most still live in tents, on the site
where their homes once stood or in camps set
up by the government and local and international
aid agencies.
Although a level of normality has now returned
to Bam, rising temperatures are making it
increasingly unbearable for people to live
in the unventilated tents.
New Homes
As the heat rapidly increases, reaching up
to 55° Celsius in the summer, the government
and a number of international aid agencies
have started to construct temporary homes
on various sites around the city.
Islamic Relief is building 400 semi-permanent
homes, which will house around 2000 earthquake
survivors. The houses consist of a single
room of 20 square metres, providing living
space for a family of five, with an additional
external toilet, shower, and kitchen block.
Sina Camp
The homes are being built in the Sina camp,
where families are still living under canvas.
IR is coordinating the construction work with
the Shura (community elders) of the camp and
the Iranian Red Crescent, ensuring the most
appropriate materials and designs are used.
CAFOD, a British-based humanitarian organisation,
has donated $110,000 towards IR’s $1
million construction project.
Ongoing Need
With the initial emergency phase now over,
many international humanitarian organisations
have completed their short-term relief programmes
and moved on. A few continue to distribute
food and essential items to the earthquake-affected
people, who number over 175,000 in total,
according to the Iranian Red Crescent.
Tent Markets
As the people of Bam try to rebuild their
lives, unemployment remains a major problem.
Some makeshift grocery shops have sprung up
to serve the displaced community but most
businesses were also destroyed in the earthquake.
To address this problem, Islamic Relief has
been working with local traders to establish
a market with 26 tent shops in Bam’s
Arg Square. The market will house a variety
of businesses including tailors, computer
supplies, painters, and even an ice-cream
parlour.
The Future
As with most humanitarian disasters, three
months later Bam now receives relatively little
international attention. Islamic Relief is
doing all it can to highlight the difficult
living conditions of the earthquake survivors
and help them rebuild their lives. It is a
mammoth task but with small signs of normality
already appearing in the city, it is certainly
not an impossible one.
Read
about the Afghan refugees in Bam
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