Relief operation underway in quake-hit north

Efforts continued on Friday to provide relief to thousands affected by a moderate earthquake one day earlier in northern Pakistan. At least 23 people were killed and scores injured in the sparsely populated Astore Valley near the northern city of Gilgit, approximately 400 km north of the capital, Islamabad.

"Preliminary reports indicate over 800 homes were completely destroyed," Jehangir Khan, the government joint-secretary responsible for the northern areas, told IRIN in Islamabad. "Between nine and ten thousand people will be in need of assistance, but access to the affected area remains limited."

The quake, which struck in the early hours of Thursday and measured between 5.6 and 5.8 on the Richter scale, ripped through the Astore subdivision of Diamer district, Northern Areas of Pakistan, affecting the villages of Mushkin, Dashkin, Turbling, and Harcho, as well as a number of smaller hamlets. Tremors were reportedly still continuing on Friday, resulting in many people being reluctant to return to their homes, he explained.

Commenting on relief efforts, Khan said that the government had dispatched three plane loads of relief items comprising of tents, blankets, bedding and winter clothing to the remote area, accompanied by the Minister of Kashmir Affairs, Nisar Memon.

"The government is on the ground," he maintained. Moreover, they had already received a commitment for assistance from a number of NGOs, he explained. As for international assistance, he remarked: "The situation is unclear at the moment. We will consider that after a more accurate assessment of the situation is made."

He noted, however, quite likely they would not be able to evacuate the affected people out of the area. Instead they would endeavour to provide assistance in locations close to their homes.

Thursday's quake comes less than a month after a similar quake struck the area on 2 and 3 November. Eleven people died and over 2,000 were left homeless when a series of moderate quakes rocked another area near Gilgit. Four villages, approximately 60 km southeast of Gilgit, including Muthat, Tato, Raikot and Jail, as well as a number of smaller hamlets were affected. Since then, the vast majority of those people have been evacuated to a government-established camp at Gunar Farms, a small town 30 km north of Chilas.

But according to a preliminary assessment of Thursday's quake by the UK-based NGO Islamic Relief, the latest quake was more severe than the previous. Most of the dead were women and children, with official death tolls ranging from 21 to 23. Many of the people affected were suffering from shock while others were busy burying the dead. A joint team from Islamic Relief and Oxfam was in the area assessing relief distribution to victims of the last earthquake when the quake hit.

Islamic Relief is stepping up its efforts in the region and has called upon international donor agencies for further assistance.

The UK-based group confirmed that access to the affected area was limited and very much dependent on the usage of helicopters. "The area has been cut off and the road to the area has been destroyed due to landslides in many places," programme manager, Asif Ali Sherazi told IRIN. "Given what we are seeing now, the road from Gilgit to Astore will not be opened before 10 or 15 days," he explained.

While the army is taking the lead role in the operations, he noted that the scale of the current emergency appeared much greater than the previous earthquake earlier this month. He was particularly concerned with the issue of shelter, saying tents being sent to the area were not winterised, and with temperatures dropping below zero at night, not suitable for current conditions. "The quality of tents is not up to mark," he said. "In our opinion, insulated sheets will be needed to make the tents cold-proof besides floor sheets," he explained

As for a policy by the government discouraging displacement and encouraging people to stay where they live, he said this was not a solution. Pointing to the larger picture, he remarked: The preparation for earthquakes in Pakistan is not very good. This area is particularly prone to such disasters so we need some long term preparedness to mitigate such problems in the future."