ERRA served as the apex institution for formulating the national earthquake public policy for the government and managed financial funds for the efforts and operations involved in the reconstruction programmes. Established on 24 October 2005 as a direct response to deadly earthquake (7.6 on the Richter Scale) in North-Western Pakistan, ERRA coordinated its largest operation to rebuild and reconstruct the 28,000-km2 earthquake effected area (that equals to the size of the Netherlands and Belgium put together). Its first earthquake operations were coordinated and executed by Lieutenant-General Nadeem Ahmad who was also its first appointed chairman from its inception, till April 2008, when Lt-Gen Sajjad Akram took over as deputy chairman. He stayed there till April 2010 when Lt Gen Haroon Aslam took over as its 3rd deputy chairman.