Shock, Sadness Follow Earthquake
October 9, 2005
At least 18,350 people have been officially confirmed dead in the huge earthquake which struck in northern Pakistan Saturday and measured at least 7.6 on the Richter scale. With the disaster zone spreading through Pakistan and parts of India and Afghanistan, the death toll is expected to spiral even higher as the relief efforts get underway. As many as 30,000 people are estimated to have been killed in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir alone.
A day after the disaster, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf appealed to the international community to assist with disaster relief, the country's state-run news agency reported. Musharraf was quoted as saying Pakistan required medicine, tents, cargo helicopters and financial assistance to help survivors. "We do seek international assistance, we have enough manpower but we need financial support so that we may … cope with the tragedy." He said supplies were needed "to reach out to the people in far-flung and cut-off areas".
Swift global response
Around the globe, countries responded swiftly to the disaster, with letters of condolence and offers of humanitarian and financial help pouring in.
US President George W. Bush, whose country is still coping with the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, said help was on the way to the victims of what he referred to as a "horrible tragedy." Other international leaders expressed shock and sadness.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and destruction" caused by the earthquake. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sent a letter of condolence to Pakistani and Indian leaders.
"The information (we have received) and the images we have of the earthquake that has struck your country fill us with sadness. Our thoughts go to the victims and their loved ones," he wrote in a message to Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "Germany will stand by you in this difficult time," he said.
The global outpouring of sympathy has been matched by pledges of aid, with the European Union being the first to respond by earmarking up to three million euros ($3.6 million) for the rescue effort.
Help on the way
"We are all hoping that the news does not get steadily worse… but we are fearful that the casualty figures may mount," said EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel as the bloc's member states rushed to offer assistance.
In Britain, which has a sizeable Pakistani community, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in a statement the government was prepared to respond to "all demands" for help from Pakistan. Several British search and resuce teams were expected to be sent.
In Berlin, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Germany had immediately released 50,000 euros to be made available to Pakistani authorities through Berlin's embassy in Islamabad. Humanitarian organizations have already begun calling for donations, and the German government is working closely with groups such as the Red Cross to organize relief efforts in the disaster zone.
Rescue teams en route
Turkey, a frequent victim of deadly earthquakes, offered aid to fellow Muslim country Pakistan, Anatolia news agency reported, quoting Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. "We are ready to provide every sort of help," Gul said, as Turkey's neighbor Greece, which also suffers almost daily tremors, pledged to send a team of specialists including search and rescue experts.
The French government said it was sending a 25-member emergency rescue team, along with sniffer dogs and cutting material to break through and remove debris and rubble. Russia planned to send a plane carrying emergency workers and equipment to Islamabad Sunday afternoon, a duty officer at the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
A seven-man UN team has also left Geneva for Islamabad to set up a "coordination and evaluation team" for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The United Nations has also pledged $100,000 in immediate emergency funding to finance relief efforts in Pakistan.
Remote areas in greatest need
Relief organizations have appealed for more assistance to be directed towards the remote provinces in Pakistan and Kashmir, many of which are cut off from the country's infrastructure. Up until now it was not clear how bad these far-flung regions had been impacted by the quake.
The German aid organization Misereor announced from its headquarters in Aachen that it had approved immediate assistance of 50,000 euros for rural regions, where entire towns have been decimated by giant mud slides.