International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Asia

Japan's tsunami: Impressions of a city that 'stood no chance'


May 10, 2011
By Shinko Tana

Once a thriving fishing port and tourist resort, Rikuzentakata was almost completely obliterated by the March 11 tsunami.

Photo: Shinko Tana/IRC
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Mothers' Stories: Lay Htoo, Thailand


May 8, 2011
By Kathleen Sands Adams

Lay Htoo and her newborn at the Tham Hin refugee camp, near the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
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Pakistan’s tent city, where residents remain torn about returning home


May 3, 2011
By Ned Colt

The Jalozai camp near Peshawar

Photo: Ned Colt/IRC
Peshawar, Pakistan -
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Life begins again in Pakistan’s Northwest

Zor Kaleh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan - 25 Apr 2011 -  

Swat after the floods

  • Men pray in the rubble of their flooded mosque in Swat Valley, Pakistan
  • A boy plays with a wooden rifle in Swat valley, Pakistan
  • Men, donkey carry wood on road in Swat Valley, Pakistan cleared by aid workers
  • Men in Swat Valley, Pakistan work on a water system installed by the IRC
  • Two villagers sit atop an IRC-built water tank in Swat Valley, Pakistan
  • Boys in Swat Valley, Pakistan play football in warm clothes from the IRC
  • A man in Swat Valley, Pakistan works in an IRC-built irrigation canal.
  • Children play cricket on a rebuilt street: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
  • A man rides a tractor in northwestern Pakistan
  • A village elder inspects a new crop of wheat in northwestern Pakistan.
  • A boy feeds chickens in northwestern Pakistan.
  • Four village elders in Camp Korona, northwestern Pakistan
Launch Slideshow

The people of Swat Valley have gone through unimaginable suffering in the course of just two years; first when the Pakistani military launched an offensive to drive out Taliban militants from the area and then by the worst floods in Pakistan’s history. The IRC is helping local communities recover and rebuild.

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Tamala stands in front of her temporary kitchen and explains that she is struggling to find enough food for her family and is worried for her children’s future.
The IRC has provided families who were uprooted by the floods with fertilizer, wheat seeds, poultry and livestock.

Text and Photos by Peter Biro

[[SLIDESHOW]]

IRC-supported aid groups in Japan provide critical help amid powerful aftershocks

Aiding quake survivors

  • Distributing emergency supplies to earthquake survivors
  • Neighborhood in Ishinomaki, Japan that was destroyed in the quake and tsunami
  • Ground floor filled by Japan tsunami sludge and vehicles
  • Japan earthquake survivors help out in a soup kitchen
  • JEN staff distributing emergency supplies for earthquake and tsunami survivors
  • Two Peace Winds Japan workers distribute boxes of emergency supplies
  • Japanese earthquake survivors heat water for tea in a temporary shelter
  • Distributing aid supplies to Japanese earthquake survivors
  • A young Japanese quake survivor in an evacuation center
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The IRC is supporting the relief efforts of three Japanese aid groups assisting survivors of the earthquake and tsunami that  devastated northeastern Japan in March 2011.

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Peace Winds Japan aid workers in an evacuation shleter for eartuqake survivors
The IRC is supporting the relief efforts of three Japanese aid groups working in evacuation shelters for earthquake and tsunami survivors in Japan. (Photo: Peace Winds Japan)

[[SLIDESHOW]]

Aiding quake survivors

Submitted by Kate Sands Adams on April 14, 2011 - 3:20pm
Date: 
April 14, 2011

The IRC is supporting the relief efforts of three Japanese aid groups assisting survivors of the earthquake and tsunami that  devastated northeastern Japan in March 2011.

IRC on alert after earthquake strikes Myanmar

The International Rescue Committee's aid teams in Myanmar and Thailand are on standby to assist in the wake of an earthquake that hit northeastern Myanmar today.

The 7.0 magnitude quake struck an area along Myanmar's border with Thailand and Laos in the evening.  Early reports from Thailand indicate minimal damage, although tremors were felt in Bangkok.  The situation in Myanmar is not clear. 

After the Flood: Pakistan’s humanitarian crisis far from over

After the flood

  • The people of Shah Wasaye returned to their village in late February. More than six months after the floods, the community is still in ruins.
  • A resident of the village clears debris from the spot where his house once stood. Flooding destroyed an estimated 1.7 million homes throughout Pakistan.
  • The IRC's Dr. Abdul Jalil examines patients in the village of Shah Wasaye. Most communities were poor even before the floods struck. Now they are suffering from an upsurge in disease brought on by food shortages, contaminated water and poor hygiene.
  • Parveen Abro, an IRC nurse, treats a girl from Shah Wasaye. The IRC operates two mobile health teams in Sindh Province that provide services to some 50,000 people.
  • Some 170,000 flood victims remain in camps for displaced people, according to the United Nations. The number of homeless people is much higher, including those living in tents beside wrecked homes, like this family near Shah Wasaye.
  • This family built a makeshift structure outside Shah Wasaye. The village's farm land and livestock were destroyed by the flooding.
  • The IRC has launched a far-reaching project that will rebuild vital infrastructure in hard-hit Sindh Province and help over 150,000 people.
  • Food shortages are acute in some areas of Sindh Province. The IRC's new aid project will rehabilitate agricultural land and distribute seeds, fertilizers, poultry and livestock.
  • The IRC supplies drugs and equipment to rural health clinics such as this one in the village of Mianjogoth.
  • The IRC has installed water tanks, hand pumps and latrines across Sindh Province. In the village of Aitbar Brohi, a girl pumps drinking water from a well.
  • A boy enjoys a clean shower in the village of Aitbar Brohi.
  • Cases of diarrhea and scabies have dropped dramatically since the IRC installed a fresh water supply, according to Mohammed Alem, who lives in a tent in Aitbar Brohi.
  • Much of Pakistan's flood zone is in the same desperate shape as it was six months ago. Although the international aid effort has helped millions of people it is still struggling to catch up to the immense human need.
Launch Slideshow

More than six months on, the humanitarian crisis brought about by the worst flooding in Pakistan’s history is far from over.   The IRC is providing clean water and health care, and helping hard hit communities to rebuild vital infrastructure and kick start their local economies.

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Some 170,000 flood victims remain in camps for displaced people, according to the United Nations. The number of homeless people is much higher, including those living in tents beside wrecked homes, like this family near Shah Wasaye.

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