Date: 8 October 2005

Magnitude: 7.6




The devastating earthquake that struck Pakistan-administered Kashmir in October 2005 resulted in the loss of more than 80,000 lives with more than 41,000 injured. Entire villages were destroyed, leaving survivors homeless with little or nothing to protect them from the imminent winter. Mercy Relief focused its attention primarily on the Muzaffarabad region which had been hardest hit and accounted for 70 per cent of the casualties.




Partners: Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), Singapore General Hospital (SGH), Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Parkway Medical Group (PMG), Singapore Red Cross Society (SRCS), Singhealth, National Healthcare Group (NHG), Singapore Pakistani Association, Ba’alwie Mosque, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Pakistani Armed Forces, The Citizens Foundation (TCF), Mediacorp




How we helped:

  • Mercy Relief coordinated with SGH to send a six-man preliminary medical team to Muzaffarabad; in total, four medical relief missions and one logistics team were deployed ground during the response period.
  • Created the Team Singapore relief mission (Mercy Relief, PMG, SRCS, Singhealth and

NHG) which was co-funded by SRCS and supported by SPA and the Ba’alwie Mosque

  • Each team spent an average of two-weeks at their designated field hospital attending to survivors, mainly attending to paediatric, orthopaedic and infection cases.
    • Implemented a vaccination programme with UNICEF at the Pakistani Medical Islamic Association’s (PIMA) field hospital during their time there
  • Provided medical aid to more than 15,000 patients in total
  • Mercy Relief procured S$15,000 worth of emergency supplies through PIMA; these included blankets,

food packs and medicines

  • Delivered a shipment of blankets, medicines and household items funded by Singapore Pakistani Association to survivors in IDP camps.The shipment was worth more than S$20,000
  • Another 1,000 tents, 1,000 blankets, food and medicine were distributed to survivors in makeshift shelters as well as IDP camps in coordination with the Pakistani Armed Forces
  • At the close of the medical relief efforts, the logistics team conducted further needs assessment in remoted villages at the epicentre of the earthquake and procured an additional 200 tents which benefited more than 1,000 people for the winter. This was funded by SRCS
  • Provided psychological aid to children
    • Provided 10,000 play-packs with new stationery and educational materials that was fundraised through roadshows with MediaCorp Radio
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