January 2006
Landslides close vital roads in quake zone
Heavy snowfall coupled with uninterrupted rain kept the quake relief air operations grounded while most vital roads too were rendered unusable either due to massive landsliding or poor visibility.
The United Nations officials, however, claimed that the staff on ground in the quake zone kept up it humanitarian duties with greater zeal and commitment. UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan Jan Vandemoortele confirmed to The News on telephone: “No helicopters flew Tuesday due to deteriorating weather situation but our staff in the quake zone continued to work hard in providing the much needed services.”
Technorati Tags: United Nations, PakistanSenator Kerry Tours Quake-Hit Pakistan
Former U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry toured earthquake-devastated parts of northern Pakistan on Saturday, distributing school uniforms and meeting local leaders at a tent village funded partly by both the United States and communist Cuba.
The visit came amid warnings that heavy snow would blanket the quake zone over the next four to five days, possibly triggering avalanches along the jagged peaks and promising more misery for the 3.5 million people left homeless by the Oct. 8 quake.
“The relief operations will be affected badly,” the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.
Technorati Tags: John Kerry, Pakistan, United States, CubaArtists paint hope for earthquake victims
Water and oil painters from Lahore have donated paintings worth Rs 0.9 million for the October 8 earthquake victims and more art shows have been planned to assist the victims, one of which will be held at the Lahore Fort.
In addition to donating the Rs 0.9 million, the painters are holding more exhibitions to send aid to the affected areas. The Punjab Archeology Department (PAD) is holding a paintings exhibition, water and oil mediums, at the Lahore Fort in collaboration with leading painters of the city. PAD Director General Oriya Jan Maqbool told Daily Times on Saturday that the theme of the exhibition would be ‘Historical Monuments’, but the dates for the exhibition had not yet been finalised. The exhibition could be held in the second week of February, he said, adding that the exhibition would also be part of an awareness campaign to educate people about historical monuments.
Technorati Tags: Lahore, earthquake, Punjab, ArcheologyCold winds, food lines, prayers: A day in the life of quake survivors
Cold winds sweep through tents, where rains soak the ground and children cough. Days are passed by waiting in lines for meals, feeding babies or perhaps taking a few swings with a cricket bat.
Three months after an earthquake in Kashmir, thousands of survivors are eking out an existence in tent camps, waiting out the harsh winter before returning to what remains of their mountain homes.
Muhammad Arshad Mughal, 22, lives with six relatives in a white 7-by-10 foot tent. The size of a bathroom in their wrecked three-story family home at a tent village in Muzaffarabad, the regional capital.
Technorati Tags: KashmirQuake survivors shiver in flimsy tents as winter bites in northern Pakistan
Shivering with cold and beating snow off their fragile tents with sticks, earthquake survivors struggled to keep their children warm as the bitter winter hit Kashmir, grounding helicopter aid flights and blocking roads for the second straight day.
Dozens of tents, including ones housing a school and a mosque, collapsed under the weight of 25 centimetres of snow that blanketed the village of Mira Tanolian, about five kilometres south of Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan’s portion of the disputed Himalayan region.
No one was hurt, but about 35 families had to re-erect their tents or move in with other families at the settlement, which lies amid the ruins of houses destroyed by the Oct. 8 temblor that killed more than 80,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless.
Technorati Tags: earthquake, Kashmir, MuzaffarabadUN suspends operations in two quake-hit areas
The United Nations has notified that it had suspended aid missions to two areas in Pakistan quake-hit Kashmir region after dozens of survivors stormed two UN helicopters and forced an airlift out of the devastated area.
Also on Saturday, Pakistan said it has prepared “contingency” relief camps - stocked with food - to cope with a fresh wave of refugees if they decide to flee the chilling winter. The Pakistan Meteorological Department, meanwhile, warned of more snowfall over the next 72 hours, following days of heavy storms that dumped up to 3 metres of snow in some areas of Kashmir and northwestern Pakistan, forcing the suspension of helicopter flights and aid deliveries.
Technorati Tags: United Nations, Pakistan, KashmirArfa Tariq: 10 year old girl missing
Arfa Tariq is missing since 08, october 2005. She and her sister were studying in City Govt. School, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir. Her sister was found two days after the earthquake but Arfa is still missing. Some of her class fellows report that they have seen her running, with injuries in head, when the school building collapsed.
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Name : Arfa Tariq
Father Name : Tariq Mehmood
Age : 10Years
Class : 5th
School : City Govt. School Muzafarabad, AJK
Mark of Identification : Mark of cut on right ear.
Missing since : 08-Oct-2005
If anybody knows about her, please contact:
92-021-4111406, 0333-3359443, 0300-8344669, 0300-8344667
Government has initiated skill training programme for quake victims
Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said that a comprehensive programme has been initiated in the earthquake-affected areas for the training of local people in various construction-related skills to enable them to build their houses and earn respectable livelihood.
Talking to a delegation of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) led by its president Mian Shafqat Ali at Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Tuesday, Elahi said that the process of identifying affected families for the Punjab government’s Support a Family programme was being undertaken expeditiously. He said that the loss of lives due to the earthquake was much more than initial estimates but the people had displayed commendable spirit of unity and solidarity at this critical juncture.
Technorati Tags: Punjab, LCCIQuake children at greater risk after rain, snowfall: UN
Children in the earthquake-hit areas are at greater risk of disease after recent rains and snowfall have made conditions more severe, the UN children’s agency said on Tuesday.
“Although there has been no major epidemic, many children are already suffering from acute respiratory infections in the quake-affected areas,” an official of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said. He said that the inclusion of antibiotic cotrimoxazole in health kits provided by UNICEF to community health workers will help treat these infections, but it would be far better if parents could keep children warm and prevent them from getting sick.
Technorati Tags: UNICEFMissing: Khuaja Nisar Ahmed
Missing in Earthquake
Name: Khuja Nisar Ahmed
Contact Person: Fayaz
Contact Number: 0345-9613363
0300-3849362