Focus on quake victims

With temperatures dropping to minus 10 at night, fears are growing that a further humanitarian disaster is likely to befall thousands of quake victims displaced from their homes in Pakistan’s northern areas.

"All of the homes have been damaged in our village and we are all living in tents now until next year when we can rebuild our homes," mother-of-four, Gulzar, told IRIN in the Hercho village located in the heart of the Astore valley, some 114 km from the northern Pakistani town of Gilgit. "We cannot heat the tents at night and my children cry all night. I don’t know how we will survive the winter," she cried.

An estimated 10,000 people were affected by tremors on 21/22 November, which measured between 5.6 and 5.8 on the Richter scale and claimed at least 25 lives. The disaster came less than a month after a similar quake of moderate magnitude struck another area near Gilgit on 2 and 3 November, killing 11 and leaving over 2,000 homeless, in this seismic active region.

"These people are very lucky that it has not snowed here otherwise they would have been trapped and there would have been greater loss of life, Officer Commanding Puma Flights (OCPF), Major Asif Kamal, told IRIN in Gilgit. "When it does snow there will be major problems as large numbers of people are sleeping in tents," he added.

"We have a plan to move these people closer down to the Indus River if it does start snowing and keep them there in the tents where the conditions won’t be as bad," Force Commander for the Northern Areas, Major General Nadeem Ahmed Khan, told IRIN in Gilgit.

On a helicopter ride through the treacherous mountainous scenery on Sunday, it was clear to see that the worst of the natural disaster may not be over just yet. Clouds of dust could be seen rising from ongoing tremors in the valley creating panic among villagers. "Look over there. It’s happening again," a man in the devastated village of Dashkin, some 75 km from Gilgit, shouted pointing out clouds of dust.

As well as impacting people directly, there have been other effects from the jolts, which caused huge landslides, blocking off major transport routes such as Pakistan’s famous Karakoram Highway that links Islamabad with China. "This road is a lifeline and used to transport all basic commodities from the Punjab province," Major Kamal added.

The Pakistani military are leading the operation to distribute relief from various NGOs working in the area. Some 10 trips are made daily to the six affected villages of Doian, Turbling, Mushkin, Dashkin, Thatto and Harcho, all located in the Astore Valley. "There are some remote areas that we have not been able to visit yet," he stressed.

With a team of 60 core officers, 200 soldiers and six helicopters, by Monday the military had managed to distribute a total of 762 tents, 4,710 blankets, 300 jumpers, 34 bundles of clothes and 20 mattresses and quilts along with medicine.

"We are in desperate need of more tents and blankets," the Major General said, adding that these were only temporary solutions. "They will need building materials too so they can go back to their homes which is what they are intent on doing," he explained.

Over the weekend, the area was also visited by the newly appointed minister for Kashmir and Northern Areas, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, who promised local leaders that the government would work as quickly as possible to distribute supplies.

"We understand your suffering and we are here to listen to your needs," he told villagers. The minister paid condolences to those who lost their loved ones and urged them to be strong at times of tragedy.

"My nephew was killed in the earthquake. We just couldn’t get the children out of the house quickly enough," Mohammed Zia, a resident in the village of Dashkin, told IRIN.

Others had a narrow escape. "I was working in the local clinic in the village of Mushkin when it happened and as I ran out of the building I tripped and displaced the joints in my feet," Yasir Malik, told IRIN at the Jaglot military base as he was being evacuated to Gilgit, some 60 km away. Already some 2,500 people have been evacuated from areas deemed unsafe and transferred to a newly established camp, called Guner Farm, about 100 km from Gilgit.

Food, clothing and shelter in the form of tents is being provided at the site, where NGOs such as Pakistan’s Edhi Foundation, the Red Crescent and Arab organisations, including the Al-Rashid Trust and the Al-Akhtar Trust are assisting.

However, military officials told IRIN that it would be impossible to evacuate all of those affected by the quake to this area. "We simply don't have the means to do this," Major Asif Kamal said.

"We were sleeping out in the open until two days ago when we got our tents. You just cannot imagine how cold and cramped it is," Rafaqat Ali, a displaced resident in Hercho, told IRIN.

Although some houses were intact in this village, residents were too afraid to stay in them at night as the foundations had weakened and could collapse.

Meanwhile, villagers in Astore valley are still living with the nightmare of the night the quake struck and in fear of what could happen next. "I still remember the time it happened. It was 2.35 am, and we heard this huge rumbling," Dr Nawab, a local physician, told IRIN in Dashkin, where every one of the houses had been damaged. He had treated people for injuries from the quake and warned of diseases such as pneumonia and gastroenteritis spreading due to the appalling living conditions.

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