UN: Quake tents inadequate for harsh winter

A senior United Nations aid official warned today that 90% of the tents distributed to survivors of Pakistan’s massive earthquake were not adequate for the Himalayan winter that is already rolling into the area.

Darren Boisvert, the UN official in charge of distributing shelter in the quake zone, said 425,000 tents have been handed out, but “90% are not winterised”.

Temperatures in the high mountains of Pakistani-held Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province have already dipped to below freezing, heaping more misery on the millions of people who lost their homes in the October 8 quake. Light snow has already fallen in some areas, and heavier storms are expected in the coming weeks.