Emergency Grant Assistance for the Earthquake Disaster (Provision of Temporary Housing) in Bam, Iran

March 19, 2004

On March 19 (Fri), the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency assistance of about 1,550 million yen in total to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which sustained damage from an earthquake that occurred in December last year, to provide prefabricated houses for the people rendered homeless because of this earthquake.
On December 26, 2003, a large-scale earthquake hit Bam, Province of Kerman in the southeastern part of Iran, causing great human and material damage: about 43,200 people dead, about 75,600 displaced, about 15,000 injured and in treatment; and about 25,000 houses in Bam city totally destroyed and about 24,000 houses in the suburbs of Bam destroyed or damaged.
The people whose houses were damaged by the earthquake are living in harsh conditions. As the spring temperatures in Bam rise sharply and the summer brings scorching heat, the plight of the victims living in tents will be extremely hard. The government of Iran, while conducting relief operations of its own to build temporary housing, is in need of further support and requested assistance from the Government of Japan for construction.
Japan decided to provide this emergency grant assistance to respond to the need for constructing such shelters for the earthquake-afflicted peoples from a humanitarian standpoint and in light of the friendly relations between Japan and Iran.
To assist the victims of this disaster, Japan has already dispatched an emergency relief medical team and extended emergency assistance in kind, equivalent to about 25 million yen, and an emergency grant aid of $770,000 (about 83 million yen) for emergency food distribution and other purposes.

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