Reuters Alertnet ON THE GROUND: South Asia quake – day seven
Aid traffic makes bad roads worse
Many roads in Kashmir are blocked, and rain and aftershocks are probably making routes even less accessible, as well as highly dangerous, an aid agency logistics officer in Pakistan said.
“First there is the risk, and there is the fact that trucks moving on a bad surface is going to make it worse.
“...However, he said more helicopters had arrived. “Now Aga Khan (Foundation) has four helicopters, (International Committee of the Red Cross) ICRC has two, U.N. have two now… Of course, it’s not enough, but for me it’s good.”
Spontaneous generosity blocks roads and aid
Well-meaning members of the public are driving supplies into the quake zone, blocking roads and delaying official relief from getting through to the people who need it, according to Amanda Pitt, spokeswoman for the U.N. team coordinating information on the relief response. “The real problem with the roads now is not landslides but congestion,” she said. “Pakistani communities have got cars and trucks and filled them with nrelief goods and are just driving them up there, as are the army and the relief agencies. In the centre of Muzaffarabad, the roads were practically gridlocked yesterday.” She said the government was doing what it could to channel private relief donations.
“When people want to help, that’s what they do, and you really can’t stop them doing that. The message they’re getting is people need your food, water, food, clothing and tents now, so of course their reaction is get in a car and go and give it to them."
“There is a huge Pakistani diaspora and a large percentage of those people’s families are from this area. They’re mobilising huge amounts of aid. It’s something everybody’s very grateful for.”
She said the Pakistani government was in charge of clearing and repairing roads – which were re-opening all the time -- and the army was establishing field hospitals, digging latrines, and setting up tents. She said: “It’s their job to do, it’s their country. We are only here to support them.”
Top tent-producing nation running short of tents
Concern’s head of operations in Pakistan, Dorothy Blane, said tents were hard to come by even though Pakistan was ironically one of the world’s major tent manufactures. “It’s a race against time in terms of the weather … There was a first light snow fall today and it’s only going to get worse,” she said speaking from Islamabad. "Pakistan is one of the world’s main suppliers of tents to the world, but it’s very hard to get them here. They don’t have 100,000 sitting waiting here. They can make the tents fairly quickly, but they don’t have giant stocks.” “Food supply is not an issue, but food distribution is an issue – there’s still 20 percent of the affected area that we do not have access to.” “We are still hearing stories of people coming out alive today but I ndon’t think there will be many more.”
Many roads in Kashmir are blocked, and rain and aftershocks are probably making routes even less accessible, as well as highly dangerous, an aid agency logistics officer in Pakistan said.
“First there is the risk, and there is the fact that trucks moving on a bad surface is going to make it worse.
“...However, he said more helicopters had arrived. “Now Aga Khan (Foundation) has four helicopters, (International Committee of the Red Cross) ICRC has two, U.N. have two now… Of course, it’s not enough, but for me it’s good.”
Spontaneous generosity blocks roads and aid
Well-meaning members of the public are driving supplies into the quake zone, blocking roads and delaying official relief from getting through to the people who need it, according to Amanda Pitt, spokeswoman for the U.N. team coordinating information on the relief response. “The real problem with the roads now is not landslides but congestion,” she said. “Pakistani communities have got cars and trucks and filled them with nrelief goods and are just driving them up there, as are the army and the relief agencies. In the centre of Muzaffarabad, the roads were practically gridlocked yesterday.” She said the government was doing what it could to channel private relief donations.
“When people want to help, that’s what they do, and you really can’t stop them doing that. The message they’re getting is people need your food, water, food, clothing and tents now, so of course their reaction is get in a car and go and give it to them."
“There is a huge Pakistani diaspora and a large percentage of those people’s families are from this area. They’re mobilising huge amounts of aid. It’s something everybody’s very grateful for.”
She said the Pakistani government was in charge of clearing and repairing roads – which were re-opening all the time -- and the army was establishing field hospitals, digging latrines, and setting up tents. She said: “It’s their job to do, it’s their country. We are only here to support them.”
Top tent-producing nation running short of tents
Concern’s head of operations in Pakistan, Dorothy Blane, said tents were hard to come by even though Pakistan was ironically one of the world’s major tent manufactures. “It’s a race against time in terms of the weather … There was a first light snow fall today and it’s only going to get worse,” she said speaking from Islamabad. "Pakistan is one of the world’s main suppliers of tents to the world, but it’s very hard to get them here. They don’t have 100,000 sitting waiting here. They can make the tents fairly quickly, but they don’t have giant stocks.” “Food supply is not an issue, but food distribution is an issue – there’s still 20 percent of the affected area that we do not have access to.” “We are still hearing stories of people coming out alive today but I ndon’t think there will be many more.”
posted by Aisha at
10/15/2005 12:32:00 AM
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