Landslides close vital roads in quake zone

Posted by Kashif Aziz
January 18, 2006

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.”

On a positive note, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received the 6.7 million euros contribution from the European Commission (EC) to its air and logistics operations, thus making it possible to keep the current fleet of helicopters running until mid-March.

The EC contribution comes at a crucial time for the survivors of the earthquake, who are now facing harsh winter conditions. “By supporting WFP’s air and logistics operation, the EC will help to maintain the ongoing delivery of such critical items as food, tents, winter clothing, blankets and tools, to people desperately in need,” said WFP Executive Director James Morris in a statement.

A UNHCR spokesman said the agency plans to complete the phase of winterisation in eight camps in the Siran Valley this week, supplementing earlier distributions of tents, blankets, plastic sheets and mattresses.

“To minimize the risk of tent fires, leaflets on fire safety and prevention were distributed along with the heaters,” he explained. Community fire safety teams have also been set up to sensitise camp dwellers on appropriate use of heaters and what to do should a fire break out.

Source: The News

Aftermath

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Leave a Reply