Balochistan Quake Survivors Await Relief

Poor infrastructure and communications are making it difficult for rescue and relief teams to scattered hamlets in the mountainous plateau area affected by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Pakistan’s south-western province of Balochistan bordering Iran at early morning on Oct. 29.

Relief efforts were thrown back by a second earthquake that struck the area barely 12 hours later at about 5 pm, followed by at least four significant aftershocks including one measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale.

Lt. Gen. (retd) Farooq Ahmed Khan, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that the situation had been brought under control when the second earthquake struck.

“We had managed to find most of the bodies and provide relief to most of the survivors, including hospitalization and first aid and tents and blankets. But because of the darkness as night fell soon after the second earthquake, it is hard to say what the situation is at this point,� he said in a late-night television show, talking to Kamran Khan of Geo TV.

At least 200 people are believed to be dead so far, a number expected to rise as many remain trapped under collapsed houses in scattered hamlets, and survivors braving the bitter mountain cold out in the open in the fruit orchards where many have taken refuge.

The army has provided six C-130 airplanes to convey relief materials including tents, blankets, food and drinking water to the affected areas, and put two army field hospitals on standby, said the NDMA Chair.

The worst hit area is the idyllic hill resort of Ziarat near the earthquake’s epicenter, some 70 km north-east of the provincial capital Quetta. Ziarat is accessible by a single road that has also been damaged by the earthquake but the over half dozen villages affected by the earthquake around Ziarat town are more difficult to reach.

Most of the houses in the area are reported to have collapsed, said to be the main cause of death in the area, said reporters reaching the area. They also say there is an urgent need for tents, blankets, food items and drinking water.

Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province in terms of area, but its most sparsely populated and poorest in terms of development and social indicators, although rich in natural mineral resources, and natural gas. Most of the ten million or so inhabitants – a fraction of the country’s estimated 160 million – of this rugged, water-scarce plateau region are tribal nomadic herders or fruit farmers.

Situated on a known fault line, the province is no stranger to such destruction. The devastation caused by the 1935 earthquake is part of legend now, when some 35,000 were killed in Quetta, wiping out half the city’s population.

However, successive governments have done little to take precautionary measures or enforce safety regulations that would reduce earthquake casualties in the country.

The British who then ruled India introduced the Building Code Act of 1935, notes M. Ejaz Khan, a veteran reporter based in Quetta. The Act included the stipulation that no buildings in the earthquake-prone area would be higher than a single-storey.

“But many buildings in Quetta are four-storey high,� Khan told IPS over the phone. “In Ziarat, there are mostly mud houses, but several government residences go up to two or three-storeys high.�

The international community has stepped forward with expressions of condolence and offers of aid, including Britain, China, India and the European Union. Germany has already committed USD 3,15,000 as well as tents, blankets and other essentials.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has announced Rs 300,000 (around USD 3,600) compensation for each casualty and Rs 100,000 (around USD 1,200) for each injured survivor.

However, many families affected by the devastating earthquake in Kashmir in the north-west almost exactly three years ago have yet to receive the compensation promised then. Over 80,000 people were killed then, with about as many injured and maimed.

“Some claimants gave up and made the tough decision to migrate to other areas, while others took loans for reconstruction. Yet others, generally the poorest, unable to pursue any of these options, continue to live in tents or other makeshift arrangements,� according to ‘Three Years On, The Realities of People’s Lives’, a report released by the Omar Asghar Khan Foundation on Oct. 8, the third anniversary of the 2005 earthquake.