An earthquake
measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit parts of the south Asian subcontinent
on Saturday morning. The quake was centered in the mountains of Pakistani
Kashmir, near the Indian border, about 95 km (60 miles) northeast
of Islamabad.
In Pakistan, early
reports indicate that casualties could be in the thousands and that
damage in parts of the country, especially in the north, is heavy.
A government official said he had reports that several villages had
been entirely destroyed. The main areas affected in Pakistan are the
North West Frontier Province (NWFP), where several hundred people
could be dead, and Azad Kashmir. News of destruction is still coming
in from Afghanistan, and ACT member Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan
(CWS-P/A) is monitoring the situation there through its offices in
Kabul and Jalalabad.
Pakistan’s army
has already started relief work in affected areas, and scores of teams
along with helicopters are in operation.
CWS-P/A staff
in the earthquake-affected areas are all accounted for. CWS-P/A has
already entered the response phase in Pakistan and is in close coordination
with all the international and local organizations and local authorities
currently involved in responding in the affected areas. The CWS-P/A
offices in Karachi, Islamabad, Mansehra and Murree are organizing
relief efforts and strategizing to address the needs on the ground.
CWS-P/A has requested
US$50,000 in Rapid Response Funds from the ACT Coordinating Office.
Its immediate plans are to assist 950 families by providing emergency
food packages (including wheat flour, rice, pulses, cooking oil, sugar,
tea leaves, salt and match boxes) in the most affected and remote
areas of NWFP and Azad Kashmir.
CWS-P/A is also
planning to issue a proposal for an ACT appeal shortly to assist 10,000
families with food and non-food items. In addition to emergency relief,
the proposal will also include shelter construction materials.
One ACT member
in India, Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), did not expect
to respond to the quake in the India-controlled part of Kashmir but
is monitoring the situation there closely.
Any funding indication
or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance
Officer (jkg@act-intl.org).
