October 20, 2005
Highlights
- 54,000 to 80,000 dead; at least 80,000 wounded; 3.3 million homeless without medicine, water and food.
- The most affected area is only 125 by 190 miles, called Azad Kashmir & Hazara District.
- Due to the Himalayan terrain, with high mountains and deep narrow valleys, and landslides, only 3 roads are functional, while 70% of the affected area remains accessible only by helicopter.
- Weather conditions include heavy rain and snow with a drastic drop in temperatures at night. Some high valleys have snow even in summer.
- In the last 11 days, fewer than 30% of the 15,000 villages have been accessed.
- UN assesses window of opportunity is ONE WEEK to save a significant number of lives. The UN says that a second wave of death will occur if more helicopters urgently do not provide more aid.
- The UN is calling this disaster, logistically, worse than the Asian Tsunami.
- The wounded are being piled 4 to 5-persons deep in helicopters due to shortage of helicopters.
- Less than 50 helicopters are currently being used in the relief efforts. The UN is asking the number to be at least tripled immediately.
Urgent Needs
There are many emergency aid needs. The detailed list is available at many websites. However, the top priorities are the following:
- 200 large cargo helicopters to take emergency aid in and bring the injured out.
- 500,000 winterized tents
Action Requested
- Contact President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes to provide 100 helicopters for two weeks to save lives.
- Contact the British government, British embassies, Saudi embassies and the Consulate, as well as the Turkish, Malaysian, and Indonesian consulates to provide more helicopters. Together, they have more than a 1,000 helicopters available.
- Contact local opinion makers, media, and your interfaith partners to use their influence by calling the above contacts to request an increase in helicopter support and aid.
- Pray for the dead, the wounded and the homeless from this catastrophe.
Contact Information
U.S. State Department: 1-202-647-4000; http://www.state.gov/
White House: 202-456-1111; http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Senator & Congressperson: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
Find your local media by your zipcode:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/
British Embassy Tel: (202) 588-7800 Fax: (202) 588 7850
www.britainusa.com/consular/embassy/
Saudi Embassy Tel: (202) 342-3800
Email: info@saudiembassy.net Web: http://www.saudiembassy.net/
Turkish Embassy
Phone: (202) 612-6700 Fax: (202) 612-6744
Email: contact@turkishembassy.org Web: www.turkishembassy.org or www.turkey.org
Malaysian Embassy Telephone: (202) 572-9700 Fax: (202) 572-9882
Email: malwashdc@kln.gov.my
Indonesian Embassy Phone: 202 - 775 – 5200 Fax: 202 - 775 – 5365
Web: http://www.embassyofindonesia.org/
Sources:
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4358902.stm
United Nations – World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/hac/crises/international/pakistan_earthquake/sitrep/WHOsitrep10SouthAsiaearthquake17October.pdf
MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9626146/
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4352052.stm
"US Navy 051013-N-8796S-119 The city of Muzafarabad, Pakistan lays in ruins after an earthquake that hit the region" by U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Timothy Smith - This Image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 051013-N-8796S-119 (next).This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_051013-N-8796S-119_The_city_of_Muzafarabad,_Pakistan_lays_in_ruins_after_an_earthquake_that_hit_the_region.jpg#mediaviewer/File:US_Navy_051013-N-8796S-119_The_city_of_Muzafarabad,_Pakistan_lays_in_ruins_after_an_earthquake_that_hit_the_region.jpg
Add new comment