A series of powerful earthquakes shook Pakistan's south-western province of Baluchistan in the early hours of 29 October 2008. Two main shocks were felt: the first tremor with a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale was felt at approximately 4:40 am (Pakistan standard time); while a second tremor with a 6.4 magnitude on Richter scale occurred at 5:33 am (Pakistan standard time). The epicenter of the earthquake was 70 kilometres north-east of the provincial capital Quetta. The worst hit areas were Ziarat, Pashim and Harnai districts.

According to government, about 7,000 to 8,000 houses were completely damaged. A total of 166 people have lost their lives and 320 have been injured.

Though the emergency needs of the affected people were being dealt with by the various humanitarian actors in the field, there was an outstanding need for warm shelter.

With the onset of winter, there was a need to provide the affected families with winterized shelters as the tents that were provided earlier could not withstand the harsh winter of Baluchistan. Therefore, after carrying out thorough assessments, shelter cluster recommended to provide winterized shelter kits to the affected people as the non-food items were already being distributed by other NGOs.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE:

To meet the emergency winterized shelter needs of 4,000 vulnerable families (some 40,000 beneficiaries; 10 persons per family) in the affected areas in Ziarat and Pishin districts in the south-west province of Baluchistan in Pakistan.