MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 6: The scale of devastation caused by the 8th October quake is still unfolding, as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is still bringing down the injured from small villages farther up north of Muzaffarabad even after almost a month of the catastrophe, the ICRC Communications Delegate, Jessica Barry said.

“We are still bringing back the injured from remote places and finding more cases from new places where a lot of help is still needed. The scale of devastation is overwhelming,” she said.

“What we are also really worried about is the spread of the disease because conditions are not good up here and people have low resistance. There are risks of chronic illnesses worsening among the weak, specially the children such as acute respiratory problems. The injured are the most vulnerable because the weather is going to turn very cold,” Ms Barry said.

She said Muzaffarabad city had lost almost all its medical service institutes adding to the problems of the aid workers. This meant that the risk of normal illnesses was also going up, she added.

In response to a question, she said proper reconstruction could not begin, specially in remote areas until after winters and it would be some time before the rubble was removed. Nonetheless, ICRC was trying to help people set up some form of shelter using the debris from their homes and was providing them with tarpaulins.

Earlier this morning, this correspondent flew with the ICRC team to a village called Serian where Shabana, an earthquake victim, needed immediate medical treatment and had to be evacuated.

“Shabana was initially given first aid by a medical team that was up here three weeks ago. She has an injured leg and had hurt her back when her house caved in on her.

Shabana is the only case and we keep running into so many people, who tell us the same story of their close ones asking us to take them with us for medical assistance.”

Shabana was flown back to Muzaffarabad where she would be attended by a specialist, who would then decide if she had to be flown into Islamabad where greater help was available.