On October 8, 2005 a 7.6 Richter scale earthquake struck Pakistan/Indian Occupied Kashmir and part of Northern Afghanistan. One Week on the figures keep climbing and every minute spent by us in our cosy homes is one minute spent by a farmer with none. Zero. With Winter days away.

This was the information I wrote one month ago today. It is still true and Winter is now only minutes away.

The relief operation is currently in absolute overdrive. With the opening of the Kaghan valley road, a fresh influx of 30,000 people is expected over the next week. Injuries are non-stop, as medical teams are still working around the clock in the affected areas. The need is actually increasing not decreasing. Australia is just now sending a 140 man medical team to manage the crisis over the Winter but it is just a drop.

Ironically we don’t have enough aid agencies because they don’t have the money to come here

Rachel Levy, WHO Emergency Health Co-ordinator

This Earthquake will not go away. Half of the 4500 affected villages have still not been reached. Two hundred thousand people are still living above the snow line and there is continued worry at the moment that helicopters will cease flying because the UN is running out of money. People are not coming down for fear of losing their property to powerful landlords, which could certainly happen in Pakistan.

This is a personal appeal to everyone to donate what you can to the Earthquake relief effort (See below). Governments cannot be relied on to provide aid to the affected persons. Pledges are a fraction of what is needed and money is needed now not in one week or one month. Think about a full blown WINTER in the Himalayas above the snow line, with only two sticks a low wall and a few holed blankets to shelter you. These people are hardy but nobody can survive that.

Shelter is still the number one priority both for the new arrivals and in the camps. Existing tents are not ‘winterised’ and people are freezing now. I hate to tell you but the snow has already begun to fall. Please check out this site for news on the alternatives. Other things needed include Warm blankets, food, jerry cans to carry water and radios to stay informed.

Consider the education statistics. This ride will now be passing through the Earthquake zone to look at the stories that don’t necessarily make the news. The stories of the people. Women and children are harder to report on than men because they remain out of the public eye in Pakistan. I’ll be staying in the displaced person camps along the way, visiting the schools decimated by the Earthquake to show their needs and those of the 4500 temporary schools that are now needed across the hit region. Please check this page for the most recent update, photos and recordings and to find out how you can further be involved. Also see previous reports for more information.

A school recently opened in Balakot where 200 out of 755 students were killed. The opening assembly was held backing the freshly dug graveyard.

INFO links

Pakistan Weather update site

Quakehelp blog maintained by SEA EAT.

Info on donating and volunteering

Info on Agencies and organizations working in the field

NEWS SITES

• CNN
• BBC
• Reuters News Coverage
• www.sarid.net/earthquake/news.htm

This entry was posted on Monday, November 14th, 2005 at 6:44 pm and is filed under Earthquake, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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