Bulletin No. 14 – South Asia earthquake
22-10-2005 Operational Update
In the aftermath of the earthquake in South Asia, the ICRC has issued an emergency appeal for additional funding and is concentrating its relief efforts on providing medical assistance, shelter, food and water to those affected.
ICRC field hospital opens in Muzaffarabad
In its second day of work, the ICRC field hospital admitted 47 severely injured earthquake victims, among them 18 children. Some were flown in by ICRC helicopter, others arrived by local ambulances or other means.
Medical evacuation from, and aid to, Neelum and Jhelum valleys
ICRC helicopters today evacuated a total of 54 injured earthquake victims from different villages in Neelum and Jhelum valleys. Thirty-five of them were flown to Muzaffarabad and 19 directly to Islamabad.
In the village of Rajkot, in Ghori valley (a side-valley of Neelum valley), ICRC staff delivered blankets and tarpaulins by helicopter to 140 families. This area was identified as a priority during previous surveys in the Neelum valley. Today's aid delivery is only the beginning of a larger relief operation planned for the area.
Human remains
After providing material support yesterday to the Pakistan army unit in charge of recovering human remains in Muzaffarabad, the ICRC today supplied 160 body bags as well as a refrigerated container to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital in Islamabad.
India
So far, the Indian Red Cross Society has distributed over 10,800 blankets, over 1,800 kitch en sets, 330 tents and 1,300 food packs, as well as plastic sheeting and clothing, to victims of the earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir. The Society also supplied medicines to a health-care facility in Poonch and a water purifier to the hospital in Uri.
In addition, over 11,600 blankets, 1,900 kitchen sets and 170 tents are on their way to the area around Uri.
The ICRC has contributed 49,000 blankets, 7,316 kitchen sets, 600 tents and 400 tarpaulins to the Indian Red Cross for its earthquake-relief activities. This is in addition to an emergency stock of 6,900 blankets, 1,296 kitchen sets, 135 tents, 1,300 food packs and assorted medicines supplied to the Society earlier in the year. Those supplies were also used for the current earthquake victims.
For further information, please contact:
Islamabad / Pakistan
Leyla Berlemont
mobile +92 300 850 81 38
satellite. phone: ++88 216 89 80 41 45
attn: L. Berlemont
(ICRC Islamabad central tel. ++92 51 282 47 80 or 282 47 52)
Languages: English/French/Arabic
Muzaffarabad / Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Raza Hamdani : mobile + 92 300 850 56 93
or Helena Laatio (ICRC/Finnish Red Cross), satellite phone +88 2165 420 7201
New Delhi / India
Caspar Landolt
mobile: ++91 98 11 80 66 33
ICRC New Delhi central tel. ++91 11 24 35 23 38/97 or 24 35 43 94/95/96)
Languages: English/French/German/Portuguese
Geneva / Switzerland
Vincent Lusser
mobile: ++41 79 217 32 64
Languages: English/French/German
ICRC Geneva press secretariat
tel. ++41 22 730 34 43
Please also check: www.icrc.org
Pakistan: GMT + 5 hours; India: GMT + 5.5 hours; Geneva: GMT + 2 hours