RECOVERY EFFORT IN QUAKE-HIT PARTS OF PAKISTAN CAN SERVE AS MODEL -- UN-HABITAT

RECOVERY EFFORT IN QUAKE-HIT PARTS OF PAKISTAN CAN SERVE AS MODEL -- UN-HABITAT
New York, Oct 10 2007 8:00AM
Two years a devastating earthquake in Pakistan Administered Kashmir, UN-HABITAT said the reconstruction effort, which has included the rebuilding of more than 150,000 houses in a manner that makes them more resilient to future shocks, can serve as a model for other response efforts.

In order to "re-build smarter and safer" following the disaster, UN-HABITAT helped to establish a dozen housing reconstruction centers in the quake zone in Pakistan Administered Kashmir and North Western Frontier Province.

The agency also helped train over 12,000 people to run the centres and ensure that new homes and buildings are more resistant to seismic activity and better adapted to cold weather conditions.

At a recent ceremony in Islamabad, officials from the agency described this as "one of the world's most successful reconstruction operations ? and a model for the response to future disasters," UN-HABITAT said in a news release.

The agency's Executive Director, Anna Tibaijuka, emphasized the importance of adopting early warning systems to prepare and reduce the impact of disasters. "This could contribute towards safeguarding livelihoods, human settlements and associated basic services, which are easily destroyed when such disasters strike," she said.

During post reconstruction "special attention should be paid to women's secure tenure, rights to land and adequate housing," she added.

The earthquake in Pakistan claimed more than 75,000 lives, including them some 17,000 children killed in collapsing schools, and left more than 3 million homeless, according to the Nairobi-based agency.

2007-10-10 00:00:00.000

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