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| October 29, 2005 | Saturday | Ramzan 24, 1426 |
Aftershock rattles quake-shattered Pakistan PESHAWAR, Oct 29, (Agencies): An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 on the Richter scale (5.5 according to the website of the US Geological Survey) was recorded by the Seismological Network of Pakistan Meteorological Department on October 29, 2005. According to the preliminary analysis of Meteorological Station Peshawar, the earthquake originated at 02 hours 34 minutes P.S.T and its epicentre lied about 200 kilometres North East of Peshawar near Hazara division. A powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale shook the region on Oct 8 last, killing more than 57,000 and injuring nearly 79,000 people in Pakistan, most of them in Azad Kashmir. Hundreds of thousands remain in temporary accommodation amid dire warnings by relief agencies that many more in the mountainous region will die as bitterly cold weather sets in. (First Posted @ 09:45 PST Updated @ 14:13)
Government releases funds to start reconstruction of damaged houses: Aziz ISLAMABAD, Oct 29 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday said that the government has decided to provide Rs. 25,000 to small families affected by the October 8 earthquake to repair their one-room house shelters as early as possible. At a meeting of the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Cabinet Committee which met here at the Prime Minister Secretariat Aziz said, "Rs. 2 billion have been released by the government for distribution among the victims living at the hill tops in the quake affected areas." He said the victims would be able to purchase Corrugated Galvanised Iron (CGI) sheets and other building material to reconstruct their houses. Technical help and assistance would be provided by the Army in the reconstruction, he added. The committee also decided that the international donors’ conference would be held on November 19 at Islamabad which will be attended by Secretary General UN Kofi Annan, President World Bank and many other world leaders and heads of financial organizations. Aziz said the initial estimates of losses due to the earthquake would be finalised by November 15 and Pakistan would convey dimensions of reconstruction and rehabilitation work to the participants before the November 19 conference. Referring to medical aid, Aziz said the number of serious patients coming to the hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has reduced, dropping from 400 to 110 per day. He said now the major issue before the government was to provide amputated patients with artificial limbs for which the committee has decided to set up special centres.(Posted @ 18:52 PST)
Pakistan, India talk to ease cross-border movement in quake-hit Kashmir MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 29 (AFP) Pakistani and Indian diplomats met Saturday to discuss opening the LoC in quake-hit Kashmir amid UN warnings time is running out for thousands of survivors stranded in the bitter Himalayan cold. The Indian delegation arrived late Friday after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh positively responded to President Pervez Musharraf's urgent call to ease the crossing of people on the heavily militarised frontier. "It is our hope that an agreement is reached between the two sides," foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. Officials said the first session at the foreign ministry lasted for two and a half hours. After a break the delegations went into a second round. No details were immediately available but the foreign ministry said a joint statement would be issued at the conclusion.(First Posted @ 11:50 PST Updated @ 21:54 PST)
Mild intensity tremors felt in Mansehra PESHAWAR Oct 29 (APP): Tremors of mild intensity were felt in Mansehra on Saturday evening separately at 17:46 and 19:23 hours. According to preliminary analysis of Seismological Network of Pakistan Meteorological Department, the magnitude of the first tremor was 4.3 and second one was 4.6 on the Richter scale. The epicentre of both jolts was about 200 kilometres North East of Peshawar, near Hazara Division.(Posted @ 21:30 PST)
Quake survivors grow restless in Kashmir village CHAKOTHI, Pakistan, Oct 29 (Reuters) Three weeks after northern Pakistan was struck by a devastating earthquake the people of Chakothi are getting impatient. The town is the last one up Azad Kashmir's Jhelum valley before the Line of Control with Occupied Kashmir and it is still inaccessible by road. Supplies are short and people are getting angry. "Open up! Don't treat us like this!" a group of men shouted at soldiers manning the gate of an army camp on Saturday where supplies are dropped off by helicopter. "We've been waiting for two days. They treat us like dogs, like Indians," one man said. "The devastation is so huge it's only natural," said one army officer, referring to the people's anger. "Unfortunately the road isn't open so private aid is not reaching here. When the road opens it will be much better," said the officer, who declined to be identified. Residents said it would take another 10 days to open the road. A young army doctor running a field clinic set up in tents on the stubble of a wheat field said he simply didn't have the equipment to do much more than basic treatment. "Most cases are fractures or dirty wounds, and there's not much we can do except first aid," he said. Asthma was on the increase as winter approaches, he said. Many quake survivors needed help for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he adedd.(Posted @ 21:24 PST)
PM to take parliament into confidence on relief operation ISLAMABAD, Oct 29 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday said he would take the parliament into confidence and give a comprehensive statement in the National Assembly next week about the rehabilitation and reconstruction work being done by the government in the quake affected areas. Aziz said the government would take input from the opposition and discuss with them all the measures being taken for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the quake-affected areas.(Posted @ 19:22 PST)
Fact sheet of earthquake affectees within next eight days: Lt. Gen. Zubair ISLAMABAD, Oct 29 (APP): Chairman Earthquake Rehabilitation Authority, Lt. General Zubair, said the government will prepare a 'fact sheet' of earthquake disaster within the next eight days to ensure the proper distribution of money among the earthquake affectees. In an interview with BBC Radio, he said the civil administration was working independently and the army was only ensuring distribution of goods to deserving people. To another question he said compensation worth one lakh rupees was being given to the affected families of each deceased person, while fifty thousand rupees were being given to each injured. He said the government also took decision to give twenty five thousand rupees to each affected family whose houses have either collapsed or was damaged in the earthquake. He said affected families would be able to use this compensation money for the purchase of reconstruction material. Zubair said small teams of army engineers comprising five to eight personnel have been constituted who will be equipped with necessary tools to climb mountains and repair damaged or collapsed houses.(Posted @ 19:16 PST)
Iran to send 10,000 tents within a week ISLAMABAD, Oct 29 (APP): Iran will send 10,000 tents for the earthquake ravaged areas of Pakistan within the next one week and provide 200 million dollars for reconstruction and rehabilitation of these areas, a senior Iranian official said Saturday. Senior Advisor to the Iranian President Dr Ali Saeed Loo told a news conference here that Iran will try to comply with any request of relief and aid from Pakistan. Saeed Loo said the Iranian government was also mobilizing resources at local government level to help the earthquake victims.(Posted @ 18:34 PST)
President, PM vow to redouble efforts to provide shelter to quake survivors RAWALPINDI, Oct 29 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday reviewed the relief operations underway in the earthquake-ravaged areas of NWFP and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, vowing to redouble all efforts for providing shelter to millions of homeless people before winter sets in. "We must explore all means to save the shelter less from harsh weather, and also ensure continuous supply of medicines and food," Musharraf underlined during the meeting. Aziz informed that both the NWFP and AJK governments have started releasing money to people for quickly raising shelters in remote areas. Aziz briefed Musharraf about his meetings earlier this week with regional leaders at the Moscow conference of Shanghai Cooperation Organization and their expression of support following the October 8 catastrophe. The President and the Prime Minister also discussed the international response to the tragedy at the Geneva donors’ conference and appreciated the United Nations urgent efforts in the wake of natural disaster. The two leaders also discussed the comprehensive approach being adopted to assess damages to all kinds of infrastructures, houses and government buildings in view of the reconstruction stage ahead in the quake zone. They also exchanged views on next month's international conference to be held in the capital.(Posted @ 17:25 PST)
Libya to establish model village in Balakot BALAKOT, Oct 29 (APP): Saif-ul-Islam Al-Gaddafi, Chairman of Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Association and son of Libyan Leader, Colonel Muamar Al-Gaddafi, laid the foundation stone of a model village here on Saturday. The Libyan dignitary is currently on a three-day visit to Pakistan to express the condolence of the Libyan government in the aftermath of the October 8 earthquake. The model village to be established and financed by Libya for the quake affected people of Balakot will have 100 quake-proof housing units. Saif-ul-Islam on the occasion also distributed relief goods among the people.(Posted @ 17:22 PST)
Jordan queen tours quake-devastated Azad Kashmir MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 29 (AFP) Jordan's Queen Rania consoled earthquake survivors when she visited a field hospital on Saturday in Muzaffarabad. The Queen visited as a representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), bringing a planeload of relief supplies with her. Queen Rania also visited a makeshift school set up in a tent, talking with students and calling for additional aid for the region. "It is very urgent to intensify efforts for the rehabilitation of affected people," she told reporters. Queen Rania was due to travel from here to Islamabad to meet Sehba Musharraf, wife of President Pervez Musharraf. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
For Pakistan fort, quake succeeds where invaders fail MUZAFFARABAD, Azad Kashmir , Oct 29 (Reuters) - Invaders over the centuries failed to bring down the walls of the Red Fort in the capital of Azad Kashmir, but the massive Oct. 8earthquake did so in seconds. The 500-year-old fort looks north over the entrance to the Neelum valley, set on a point of land in a kink in its river and commanding an ancient route from the high Himalayas down to the lowlands. "Enemies always failed to undermine this fort but we are helpless against nature," Mehmoodul Hasan, Director Information, said as he surveyed the ruins of the devastated city's main historical site. Many parts of the fort's thick walls of oval-shaped river stones and pinkish mortar have crumbled, spilling out onto a main road running along one of its sides. Six of its eight battlements and three ramparts have also been destroyed, some debris tumbling into the Neelum river. All of the fort's corners, where torches were once fixed to light it, have collapsed. And what was once a stable where more than 100 horses were kept has been reduced to rubble. "It's our history. It is unfortunate that it also fell victim to the earthquake, like the rest of Muzaffarabad, but we will definitely seek international help to rebuild it," Hasan said. (Posted @ 13:20 PST)
Three weeks after quake, many victims have yet to receive aid : UN UNITED NATIONS, Oct 28 (APP): Three weeks after an earthquake devastated northern Pakistan, many people have still not received any assistance at all, the United Nations emergency relief office reported Friday. "Without more help now, the second wave of deaths in Pakistan is coming. We cannot wait to see images of people freezing to death or dying of preventable disease before we act," WHO Representative for health action in crises, Ala Alwan, said. The WFP has already increased its estimate of the number of people in potential need of food aid to get through the winter to 2.3 million people. "These people were already poor before the earthquake hit. In a matter of just a few minutes everything they had - their homes and livelihoods - disappeared," said WFP Programme Adviser Anette Haller, who headed an assessment team in the area. "Now they are completely desperate. We have to reach them before winter does - and that means within the next three weeks," she warned. UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman will start a two-day visit to the quake zone on Sunday. She will visit hard-hit communities and meet with Pakistani officials. Within the last 10 days UNICEF has helped to vaccinate 65,000 children against measles and tetanus. For its part, the UNHCR is continuing to provide blankets, tents, plastic sheets, jerry cans and burial cloths. Its airlift from Turkey, organized in cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is now in its tenth day and has so far delivered more than 450 tonnes of urgently needed supplies. "The window to reach earthquake survivors in the remote mountains and high valleys of quake-hit Pakistan is fast closing with the onset of cold weather," UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told a news briefing in Geneva. "This is still a life-saving operation and every minute counts." (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Rich countries fail to dig deep for quake victims: Oxfam LONDON, Oct 28 (AFP) - Wealthy countries such as Spain and Austria as well as oil-rich members of OPEC have so far failed to contribute to a UN appeal for survivors of the earthquake in Pakistan, Oxfam said on Friday. It ranked 22 nations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) based on donations to the appeal. Sweden topped the league table, coughing up 170 percent of its fair share, based on the size of its economy. Three other countries -- Norway, Ireland and Luxembourg -- were also paying above the odds, according to the data. In contrast, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Finland and Austria shared bottom place having given nothing to the emergency fund. "Oil rich countries in OPEC have also so far failed to make any funds available to the UN appeal though there have been some contributions outside the appeal," it said. "The UN is warning that the lack of funding means its helicopters may have to stop flying aid to people within days, yet rich governments appear to have their heads in the sand," said Jo Leadbeater, head of advocacy at Oxfam. "It is hard to make the warnings more clear. Once people start dying in large numbers in the snow the conscience of donors may stir, but by then it will be too late to reach thousands," he said. "The UN appeal needs funding now." Even after Wednesday’s UN funding conference, Oxfam said the United States, Germany, Japan and France were still paying less than one-fifth of their fair share to the appeal. The charity urged governments to dig deeper into their pockets. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
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