The earthquake of 8 October 2005 not only caused death and injuries, but also destroyed water schemes like tanks, channels and trimmings of wells. The population in the earthquake struck Palas Valley (Kohistan District) still cannot use many of these important facilities. 

In the tanks drinking water from springs is collected, in some places rain water is stored for humans and animals. The channels mainly serve irrigational purposes. In many settlements the earthquake devastated the only reliable water source; now people are forced to switch to unsafe sources like pools which makes them prone to water borne illnesses like diarrhoea and cholera. An additional obstacle is that the women, who are traditionally responsible for collecting water, need to cover long distances on unsecured paths to reach these collection points. Finally, the destruction of the water channels has made the irrigation of the fields very difficult which leads to a very restricted food supply is very restricted.