Rain and snow lash quake zone, ground helicopters
Heavy rain and snow lashed earthquake-hit areas in
Aid workers have warned that cold weather in the Himalayan foothills, where temperatures have already fallen below freezing, may claim more lives after the magnitude-7.6 quake on October 8 left about 87,000 dead and 3.5 million homeless.
Using helicopters, roads and mule tracks, UN and other aid groups and the Pakistan Army have been delivering tents, clothes, food and other provisions to survivors.
Helicopters were not flying in the quake zone due to poor visibility on Sunday, said an air force official at an air base in
The UN estimates that 2.5 million people are living in tents below 1,500 metres, while 350,000-400,000 others are in higher areas – where it’s feared that snow and rain will make it harder for helicopters and trucks to reach them.
On Sunday, rain pounded the quake zone and about 30 centimetres of snow fell above the 1,830-metre level, said Qamar-uz Zaman Chaudhry, the head of Pakistan’s
More snow and heavy rain were likely over the next two days, he said. Major Farooq Nasir, an army spokesman in
On Saturday, an eight-member US congressional delegation headed by Nevada Republican Jon Porter visited Muzaffarabad, meeting survivors and doctors at a US Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or MASH.
The delegation also visited the
Later, Porter told reporters that delegation members were saddened by the destruction, and assured their continued support to Pakistan in its efforts to help survivors.
Source: Daily Times through AP
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