Pakistan's Earthquake Aftermath Brings New Crisis
Victims of South Asia's colossal quake face yet another imminent crisis as lack of sanitation facilities is drawing the concerns of water and sanitation officers over the serious potential for the spread of diseases.
Posted: Friday, October 28 , 2005, 9:22 (UK)

Victims of South Asia's colossal quake face yet another imminent crisis as lack of sanitation facilities is drawing the concerns of water and sanitation officers over the serious potential for the spread of diseases.

It has been almost three weeks since the 7.6 magnitude earthquake – the largest in the last 100 years – devastated homes, buildings, roads and latrines in Pakistan. Although latrines may seem a small loss compared to collapsed 10-story buildings or the urgent need for blankets and shelters, the lack of sanitation facilities in the earthquake-stricken areas of Pakistan is a grave situation that can lead to the outbreak of contagious diseases among survivors, according to disaster relief groups in the area. Presently, thousands of people have no access to latrines.

"But even more important [than clean water supplies] is the lack of latrines. We think we have five or six hundred thousand shelters that have been wiped out – and then the toilets and latrines have also been wiped out,” said Bill Fellows, a senior regional water and sanitation officer for UNICEF in South Asia, according to Action by Churches Together (ACT) last Tuesday. The rest