Pakistan Earthquake 2005

Covering the earthquake, the damage and the relief work in Pakistan.

Aftermath

Urgent action urged on Pakistan landslide threat

Landslides present a substantial threat to survivors of last October’s catastrophic earthquake in Pakistan and urgent action is needed ahead of summer rains to prevent large-scale loss of life, experts say.

Professor David Petley of the International Landslide Center at Britain’s University of Durham and Dr Mark Bulmer of the Landslide Observatory at the University of Maryland in the United States visited the quake zone in northern Pakistan in January.

In a joint report made available on Monday, they said that while the response of Pakistani and international relief agencies to the October 8 quake had been remarkable, landslides posed a “substantial threat” to survivors.

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Understanding Pakistan Earthquake Damage

Kathryn Cramer reports about two photos that captures the devastation caused by the October 8th earthquake in Pakistan.

Photos taken by Jishnu Das.

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Fighting quakes with computers

In today’s world of modern technology, one wonders if computers could not have warned about the October 8 earthquake.

However, there is no high-tech system in the world to give warnings about earthquakes and assess its exact timing but there must be a technology that could help lessen the damage. Earth changes could be monitored regularly using modern technology.

“We are arranging an international conference on seismology in Islamabad on March 6 to 8, 2006. The conference will discuss many topics, including the role of computers in warning people about earthquakes well in time,” Dr Qamaruz Zaman Chaudhry, the Pakistan Metrological Department director general, told Daily Times.

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For postquake Pakistanis, a greater need

Following is the editorial from The Christian Science Monitor:

Try explaining “donor fatigue” to the earthquake survivors in Pakistan - up to 3 million of whom need food and shelter as winter blows into the Himalayas. Or, explain it to hard-line Muslim groups providing humanitarian assistance while the West responds with far less magnanimity than it did after Asia’s tsunami.

Perhaps because the Oct. 8 quake came in the wake of other large-scale disasters, perhaps because nations’ aid budgets are stretched, or because the 7.6 temblor hasn’t received 24/7 media coverage - whatever the reasons, the relief effort in mountainous northern Pakistan is in a cash crisis, and requires urgent response.

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Why 10,000 schools collapsed

Ten-year-old Kaleem’s classroom is now a tent, his schoolyard a patch of ground near a stream. His real school in Bampora was flattened in the earthquake, trapping him under rubble for six hours before rescuers found him. Kaleem, smiling shyly, says he is happy to be back in class.

Kaleem’s makeshift tent school, which the Army opened just days ago in Balakot, signals that the first wave of healing has begun after at least 17,000 children died in school collapses. But it comes amidst growing demands from citizens groups for an investigation into why so many schools - some 10,000 - came down, and confrontations over safety between concerned parents and school administrators.

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Blog posts from Mansehra and Balakot

Following are excerpts from blog post on Loose Canon made an american engaged in relief and support activites for earthquake victims in Pakistan.

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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.”

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Senator 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.

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