Among
the dozens of tents that house the offices and accommodation
for the international Red Cross Red Crescent team in Bam, lies
the section that ensures the pipeline of relief goods runs smoothly,
the Logistics Emergency Response Unit (ERU).
They may do their work behind the scenes, but this joint British
and Danish Red Cross ERU is a crucial part of the operations.
“We arrived on December 28, just shortly after the Field
Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT),” says Richard
North, Logistics ERU Team Leader. “We had originally intended
to set up our operations in Kerman, but quickly realized that
our destination would be Bam.”
The Logistics ERU erected the first tent at the Red Cross Red
Crescent compound. The five-person team in Bam consists of a
team leader, systems expert, transport and warehousing staff
person and air operations coordinator. A procurement delegate
is also based in Kerman along with a translator from the Iranian
Red Crescent Society (IRCS).
“Our first objective was to bring in the ten ERUs that
focus on health, water and sanitation, relief and psycho-social
support,” adds North. “We worked 24 hours a day
for the first few days, bringing in trucks, stock and staff
that support the ERUs.”
In between bringing in ERUs, the Logistics Team also managed
the receipt and transportation of relief goods that went directly
to the IRCS for immediate distribution to the thousands of people
left vulnerable by the earthquake.
“There is a always a great need for flexibility in logistics,
as sometimes aircraft show up unexpectedly or do not show up
as scheduled,” says North. “During the first few
days, we were sometimes swamped with trying to manage the arrival
of three or four aircraft at the same time. It was challenging
to maintain the paper work and look after such specialized,
expensive equipment.”
With the help of more than 50 IRCS volunteers, eight gigantic
Rubb halls (2,000 sq metres each) have been put up to warehouse
the blankets, plastic sheeting, tents, kitchen sets and other
relief items shipped from all over the world.
“Our focus is to ensure that tracking controls are put
in place so that we can produce daily monitoring reports listing
the goods received and shipped out from our operation,”
concludes North.
The importance of this logistical support is sometimes overlooked,
but is nonetheless crucial to ensuring that such a major relief
operation runs like clockwork.
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| Essential
relief items are unloaded at Bam airport, a process coordinated
by the Logistics Emergency Response Unit (p11067)
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| An
Iranian Red Crescent volunteer helps to unload relief
goods on their way to the earthquake victims (p11065)
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| Part
of a Spanish Red Cross clinic arrives in Bam. The arrival
of this and other essential aid was coordinated by the
Logistics ERU, staffed by members of the British and Danish
Red Cross Societies (p11068) |
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