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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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February
2004
Volume 6
- Number 1 |
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Newsletter
Assignment--Iran Earthquake Joseph F. Jeannette II On December 26, 2003 at 5:23am the historic City of Bam, Iran, located southeast of the Kerman province experienced an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the richter scale. Bam was built out of mud bricks, straw, and trunks of palm causing the city to crumble easily. Other shocks continued to be felt one after and one reaching as high as 5.3 on the richter scale. The destruction left 70% of the houses destroyed, over 12,000 injured, and many homeless. Recently the death count reached close to 41,000 due to the city being in the center of quake. Emergency help came from local the cities Tehran, Esfahan and Kerman, who provided food, medicine, temporary housing. Individuals from those cities also helped with search and rescue. The Iranian Red Crescent (IRC), an international emergency response organization, responded by sending helicopters and tents. Emergency centers were set up in makeshift buildings and by January 2, 2003, 92,000 tents, provided by the IRC, lined the streets of Bam. The people left homeless used 200,000 blankets, 56,000 items of clothing, and 51,000 heaters to keep warm. Germany, Spain, Belgium and the United States responded when city officials made an international call for aid. The United States sent seven Air Force C-130 cargo planes carrying 150,000 pounds of supplies including blankets, medical supplies and water, making them one of the largest donors. Humanitarian assistance continued from other various international organizations, such as The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, who provided 400,000 ready-to eat meals; the Action by Churches Together (ACT), who $50,000 for Rapid Response Funds; the Church World Service, who provided $30,000 for life necessities; and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who gave $3.5 million for tents, transportation, and sanitation goods. The difference in mitigating building codes and construction techniques can make a huge difference before a disaster. For example, California and Iran both lay on faults that are susceptible to strong and frequent earthquakes. Five days prior to the Iran earthquake a quake hit southern California registering the same magnitude of 6.5 on the ritcher scale. Because of the strong building requirements for earthquake hazards, the California earthquake only caused minor building damages. While California’s economic and political interests lie in mitigation techniques to regulate building codes, Iran’s political interests are in providing food and gasoline to their people. Iran does not have the strong building codes that the United States has. If they had such codes, they may not have suffered as much damage. The rebuilding of The City of Bam is slow and the United Nations estimated the cost to be $700 million to $1 billion. As of January 9, 2004 the UN had only raised $74 million in aid for the victims. Many people continue to stay in tents and shelters through the harsh cold. Even when the re-construction effort finishes the country will find themselves in danger when the next earthquake strikes due to enforcement of building codes, preparedness, and politics. References http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi./word/middle_east/ http://www.act-intl.org/alerts/Alerts_2003/ http://www.ifrc.org/docs/news/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran
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