Hundreds more earthquake survivors seek treatment

Hospitals in the quake zone yesterday reported treating more than 700 people suffering from pneumonia, hypothermia and other illnesses, and said hundreds more had come in by early today, though the weather was turning sunnier and warmer.

Doctors have said the situation could worsen in the coming weeks if arrangements are not made quickly to provide shelters equipped to deal with harsh winter conditions to quake survivors. Officials worry that a lack of sufficient shelters and aid could cause a second disaster for the 3.5 million people who lost their homes in the October earthquake that killed more than 87,000 people.

Mild aftershocks were felt in northwestern Pakistan, Islamabad and elsewhere today, but a magnitude was not immediately know, said Sailur Rahman, an official at the meteorological department. He said they had not received any reports about any damage.

Earlier, Mazhar Rashid Abbasi, an official with the Pakistani charity al-Khidmat Foundation, said it badly needs funds to winterise the nine tent camps that it is managing for quake victims in Kashmir and northwestern Pakistan.

“We have exhausted our resources to provide better, warm shelters,” he said, adding that refugees will be given coal stoves to heat their tents.

“The winter is getting harsh. They need to keep warm.”

Abdul Razaq, 28, told a far-too-typical tale.

The farmer from Nauseri, a village about 30 miles north of Muzaffarabad, is living in one tent in a refugee camp with his wife and their three children, along with the four children of a brother and his wife who were killed in the earthquake.

“We need a stove, more blankets and warm clothes to keep warm,” he said as his three children huddled in a blanket in one corner of the tent.

“We try to keep the children in the tent to protect them from the cold. We light a fire outside the tent at night and in the morning. This helps the children to get warm.”

Christine Neveu, UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ co-ordinator for Kashmir, said the agency is in constant contact with managers of tent villages and that it has been convincing them to follow a UNHCR model by digging a fireplace pit about two to three feet deep with an outlet for smoke.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Pakistan has said the onset of winter conditions is severely hampering relief operations. Officials also are seeking to keep the focus on the immediate needs of survivors instead of allowing it to shift to long-term reconstruction.

Pakistan’s government told Nato today that it can wrap up its relief operations in January, when its 90-mandate expires.

Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan praised Nato’s help, calling it “timely and substantial in providing shelter, especially through the transportation of tents and other relief supplies, to the affected areas.”

Nato has made over 147 relief flights to date, while the US Air Force flew its 250th relief mission earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the Legislative Assembly of Kashmir met in Muzaffarabad today, the first time since last month’s quake hit the scenic Himalayan region and MPs in their speeches praised the Pakistan army, foreign rescue and relief workers, aid agencies and volunteers for helping them at the hour of need.

They also thanked the international community for giving money and aid for the survivors.

Kashmir was divided between Pakistan and India after they gained independence from Britain in 1947. Pakistan’s part of Kashmir has its own legislative assembly, court, police and administration, although it is controlled by Islamabad.

Although Pakistan and India have fought two of three wars over Kashmir, they have taken steps to improve relations since 2004 when they began a peace process to resolve all outstanding issues. Since last month’s quake, they have also opened five points along their heavily militarised Line of Control to enable Kashmiris to meet with each other’s relatives and friends.

Today, 16 Indians crossed the fortified frontier at the town of Chakothi that divides the Indian and Pakistani portions of Kashmir. Among them was 70-year-old Bano Begum, who said her brother died in the October 8 quake in Muzaffarabad and that she had come to visit his grave.

“It is my first visit in the past 58 years,” she said.

More than 2,000 patients have been treated by US Marines and nearly nine million kilos of humanitarian aid has been unloaded by the US Air Force in relief operations in earthquake-ravaged Pakistani Kashmir, the US military announced.

The Marines, deployed from their bases in southern Japan, opened a field hospital in the town of Shinkiari in the Kashmir quake zone on November 17, and treated their 2,000th patient yesterday, the military said.

The hospital has 60 beds, X-ray capability, an emergency room, a laboratory and a pharmacy.

“It’s deeply gratifying to know we’ve had such a significant impact,” said Commander Tom Davis, senior medical officer for Combined Medical Relief Team 3.

“It’s emotionally trying to witness the suffering of the Pakistani people,” he said. “But it feels good knowing you’re making a difference one life at a time.”

The Air Force unloaded its 250th relief flight at Chaklala Air Base on Tuesday. The Air Force unit has moved 7,200 boxes of food, 2,200 boxes of water, 4,600 sleeping bags and 4,500 tents. The unit has also helped handle aid from more than 20 other countries, it said.

“There are humans in need, and the rest of humanity is rushing to help,” Colonel Richard Walberg, commander of the unit, said in the statement.

The earthquake killed at least 87,000 people and destroyed the homes of another 3.5 million people.

Officials say the onset of winter conditions is severely hampering relief operations, so the focus is remaining on immediate needs instead of long-term reconstruction.