{ "id": "RL33196", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL33196", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 314419, "date": "2006-03-24", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:07:51.479029", "title": "The Earthquake in South Asia: Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Operations", "summary": "On October 8, 2005, a powerful earthquake struck northern Pakistan and India, killing at least\n74,000\npeople and injuring over 70,000 more. The earthquake damaged the homes of millions of people,\nforcing more than 2.8 million to search for alternative means of shelter. The full extent of the\ndestruction is now being revealed as government authorities and relief organizations are able to\naccess some of the remote locations. The United States government (USG) has pledged $510\nmillion toward the relief effort, almost all of it to assisting Pakistan, which remains a key U.S. ally\nin the war against terror. Because of the heavy USG military and development presence in\nneighboring Afghanistan, the logistics of bringing resources into Pakistan have been relatively\nstraightforward. The USG, Government of Pakistan, and NATO, among others, operated daily relief\nflights to ferry supplies, personnel, and victims to and from the region.\n The earthquake struck a region that lies along the southern reaches of the Himalayan Mountains. \nWhile delivering humanitarian assistance and gaining full access was critical, one of the main\nhumanitarian priorities early on was ensuring that the estimated three million people who lost their\nhomes had adequate protection from winter weather and diseases. Extensive preparation and\ncoordinated relief efforts helped greatly to mitigate against the impact of winter. Aid agencies\ncontinue to provide much needed assistance and are now planning for the transition from relief to\nreconstruction, which is scheduled to take place in April. \n A November public poll suggests that the USG's aid effort has improved ordinary Pakistanis'\nopinions of the United States, although apparent U.S. missile attacks on Pakistani territory in\nDecember 2005 and January 2006, and anger over the February publication in European newspapers\nof cartoons deemed offensive to Muslims, reinvigorated anti-Western and anti-American sentiments\namong some segments of the Pakistani populace. Some experts have raised concerns that the\neconomic burden of the disaster could contribute toward long-term instability in an area perceived\nto be of critical importance to the United States in the war on terror. It remains to be seen what\nprogress is made in the recovery and reconstruction phase and what impact this may have on public\nopinion.\n Immediately following the disaster, legislative activity included the introduction of several\nresolutions expressing sympathy for those affected by the earthquake, pledging American support\nfor the victims, and lauding the relief efforts of U.S. personnel. Additional funds were not added to\nthe regular FY2006 Foreign Operations spending measure for earthquake relief, but the FY2006\nsupplemental request proposes $126.3 million for Pakistan earthquake relief. The House-passed bill\nfully funds the request for Pakistan earthquake assistance in order to reimburse funds that were\npreviously reprogrammed to meet emergency needs. A final update of this report will be completed\nonce the relief operation comes to an end (scheduled for April 2006) and the recovery phase is\nofficially launched.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33196", "sha1": "2d319a0f80a41507f4c8a40d3fb8bea3b448cb04", "filename": "files/20060324_RL33196_2d319a0f80a41507f4c8a40d3fb8bea3b448cb04.pdf", "images": null }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20060324_RL33196_2d319a0f80a41507f4c8a40d3fb8bea3b448cb04.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs8257/", "id": "RL33196 2005-12-12", "date": "2005-12-12", "retrieved": "2006-02-24T13:03:50", "title": "The Earthquake in South Asia: Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Operations", "summary": "The powerful earthquake struck northern Pakistan and India damaged the homes of as many as three million people, forcing many of them to search for alternative means of shelter. The full extent of the destruction remains unknown because government authorities and relief organizations continue to have difficulty accessing some remote locations. As of the date of this report, the United States government (USG) has pledged $410 million toward the relief effort, almost all of it to assisting Pakistan, which remains a key U.S. ally in the war against terror. So far, about 35% of this pledge has been committed. Some aid agencies are saying that the country needs a great deal more aid than it is getting, and warn that the economic impact of the disaster will surpass $5.2 billion. This burden may contribute toward long-term instability in an area perceived to be of critical importance to the United States in the war on terror.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20051212_RL33196_4b28dfcee968955fcbfa724e2c0b5ef1fb8117be.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20051212_RL33196_4b28dfcee968955fcbfa724e2c0b5ef1fb8117be.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign aid", "name": "Foreign aid" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Earthquakes", "name": "Earthquakes" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "American economic assistance - Pakistan", "name": "American economic assistance - Pakistan" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Emergency management", "name": "Emergency management" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Asian Affairs", "Domestic Social Policy", "Foreign Affairs" ] }