Gujarat Earthquake Update Report

(July 3, 2001) -- In the aftermath of the January 26, 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, India, CARE's Gujarat Relief and Rehabilitation Project has helped 175,000 people rebuild their lives. CARE immediately provided urgently needed medical care, food and non-food items, constructed temporary shelters and restored a safe water supply. CARE now is working to rebuild 30 villages, which includes 10,000 homes.

Estimates of those killed in the earthquake vary from 20,000 to 100,000. Hundreds of thousands have been left homeless. The government of India estimates that 15 million Indians were affected to some degree.

The quake's epicenter was near the town of Bhuj, in Kutch District, where 92 percent of all quake-related deaths occurred. Some 500,000 houses were destroyed or damaged, and 5,000 schools flattened. Health centers, water supply systems, sanitation facilities and other crucial infrastructure was destroyed. In Bhuj, Rapar, Bhachau and Anjar -- Kutch's four most affected blocks -- between 70 and 100 percent of all physical structures were destroyed. It is because of this widespread devastation that CARE chose to focus its rebuilding efforts in these areas.

In the aftermath of the earthquake in Gujarat, CARE and Digital Partners created a challenge fund that raised more than $650,000 for immediate relief and rehabilitation. With this support, CARE provided urgently needed medical care, food and non-food items (shelter materials, water purification supplies, cooking kits) to more than 175,000 quake-affected people. The extent of damage in Kutch District, and the depth of trauma experienced by its residents, led CARE to commit to a major rehabilitation effort that will last between two and three years. In order to maximize its rehabilitation assistance, CARE forged an alliance with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India's largest business federation.

The earthquake has had a multi-dimensional impact on the lives of Gujarat's people. It significantly aggravated the extreme difficulties that rural people, in particular, already faced as the result of a three-year drought and subsequent food insecurity. Most households lost family members, friends, homes and important assets. While the quake's impact was felt by all socioeconomic groups, its long-term impact will be greatest on the poor and marginalized who have the fewest resources for recovery.

Wherever possible, CARE and FICCI are harnessing and improving villages' own capacities and resources -- by employing and training local people, using local materials, supporting local enterprise and working in partnership with local non-governmental organizations.

Progress to-date includes:

• Temporary family shelters that CARE distributed in the

  post-quake emergency phase are in place in all villages, and construction of temporary community structures

  Building temporary shelters is one step in the rehabilitation process. All photos CARE 2001.

  (health posts, schools, panchayat offices) in each village is nearing completion.
• CARE assembled a task force of professionals who were selected for their collective expertise in all aspects of construction and rehabilitation, including earthquake-proof building methods. The task force includes eminent Indian engineers, architects, builders and a local non-profit organization that promotes appropriate technologies.
• CARE has launched household (houses, latrines, waste disposal) and village rehabilitation (community centers,

  water systems, small economic activity development, watershed management and irrigations systems activities) in three blocks of Kutch District: Anjar, Rapar and

  Some villagers in Gujarat depend on water from tankers in the drought-striken region.

  Bhachau. CARE's ongoing dialogue with the governments of Gujarat and India has contributed to clarification of evolving regulations and policies, allowing CARE and the government to work together to rebuild communities under new guidelines.
• CARE conducted a comprehensive survey in all 30 of its

  participating villages, analyzing the present socioeconomic situation, damage due to the earthquake, its impact on the people, emerging opportunities, potential for community participation and priorities for long term rehabilitation.

  CARE workers are currently engaged in securing social contracts with the villagers to rebuild their houses.

• In each village, subsequent to the local government (panchayat) passing a resolution indicating its interest and commitment to working with CARE, Gram Navrachna Samitis or Village Rehabilitation Committees are being formed. These committees will direct and supervise reconstruction activities. Housing construction plans have been shared with villagers for their feedback. Nilpar, a small hamlet of 35 households in Bhachau, was the first village to begin house reconstruction on May 20, 2001.