The United Nations said on Tuesday that at least 45 million US dollars is needed to provide winterized shelter to earthquake-affected people living below 5, 000 feet altitude.

Speaking at a news conference, United Nations Humanitarian Relief Coordinator Jan Vandemoortele said that people living at over 5,000 feet altitude are receiving aid from international organizations and the Pakistani army but about 1.9 million people living below 5,000 feet need blankets, plastic sheets and mats.

About 1.3 million blankets are already in the pipeline, according to data by the Pakistani government. "Normally, a person needs two winter-quality blankets or one quilt. Therefore, an additional 2.4 million winter-quality blankets or 1.2 million quilts are urgently needed. Including operational and distribution costs (truck and helicopter), a total of 31 million dollars will be needed to cover this need," he said.

"About 40 percent of the tents have some form of plastic sheeting. The Pakistani government is procuring 300,000 plastic sheets for delivery by the end of December," he said. "To supplement this and ensure that sufficient weather-proofing is provided for the entire winter period, some 170,000 additional plastic sheets of international quality will be required particularly for roofing-protection from rain and snow. A total of 4.5 million dollars will be needed."

Another 9.5 million dollars will be needed as three-quarters of tents are without adequate floor insulation, according to Vandemoortele. Without tarpaulins, he said, it will be difficult to keep the temperature inside the tent adequate.

"Some 200,000 tarpaulins or equivalent plastic sheets are required for floor insulation in addition to those required for roof protection," he said.

"An estimated one tenth of the tents are deemed by their occupants as structurally inadequate, many of them will probably not last the winter," said the UN coordinator.

Therefore, he said, an estimated 30,000 tents will therefore need structural support or will need to be replaced.

"The good news is that there are already sufficient tents in the pipeline to cover this need. This does not mean that the pipeline is no longer needed. It means that no new tents need to be added to the existing pipeline," he added.

The UN coordinator warned that the quake survivors could face more problems in case of sluggish aid during the winter.

Source: Xinhua