Quake survivors braving snowfall, icy winds

MANSEHRA: Reeling from the magnitude 8.1 quake that struck the country on Monday, many survivors in different areas of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan spent their third consecutive night without shelter braving snowfall and icy winds.
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, who spent his third consecutive day with the quake-hit people on Thursday, announced that he would personally reach people who had been waiting for relief and help.
Nawaz admonished the administration for failing to reach certain remote areas and higher hilltops.
Addressing the quake-hit people in the Dassu area of Kohistan, Nawaz assured them the government would leave no stone unturned to provide them with relief. He told them that rehabilitation was the top priority of the government.
KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Federal Minister for Information Pervaiz Rashid accompanied him.
Nawaz said the implementation of the relief package announced by him had started. He announced Rs40 million for the area for the payment of agricultural loans.
Nawaz said the federal and the KP governments would pay Rs600,000 to the next of kin of those who were killed in the tragedy while the affected people would be provided with tents, blankets and food items.
He said relief goods would also be provided through helicopters in areas inaccessible by land routes, and directed the departments concerned to open blocked routes in the district by using heavy machinery.
Nawaz said the government could understand the pain and loss of the affected people and would do all within its means to bring them comfort.
He said the compensation package was for the quake victims of Fata, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and KP. The payments would start a week after due verification.
He said though the quake was higher in magnitude than the one in October 2005, the losses were far less due to the blessings of Allah Almighty.
He said the government was striving to reach remote places. He also directed the chairman NDMA to ensure that relief goods reach the needy without delay.
The prime minister directed the elected representatives of the area to fan out to the affected areas and monitor the relief and rehabilitation measures.
He regretted that the literacy level in the area was low and said the government would provide more funds for setting up new educational institutions.
Referring to the expansion of the Karakorum Highway, the prime minister said the project would usher in a new era of prosperity for the people of the area.
He said work on the Dassu Dam was going on apace and it would help create jobs for locals. He said the area was rich in scenic beauty and this potential needed to be fully exploited to attract more local and foreign tourists.
He directed the DCO Dassu to arrange heavy machinery to clear the blocked roads. He expressed concern over the plight of people without shelter in the severe winter and directed the immediate supply of food, blankets and tents to them.
The prime minister said the local administration should work in coordination with the disaster management officials to facilitate the affected people.
Our correspondent from Mansehra adds: Nawaz resolved to convert the October 26 earthquake into an opportunity for the better development of the affected areas of the county.
“We are out not only to reconstruct the damaged health, education and other infrastructure along modern lines, but also to compensate the affected families with Rs600,000 each,” he said.
The prime minister said the families that lost their loved ones and suffered financial losses would not be left alone in their hour of need.
“We are with you in this difficult time of your life. This is why Rs600,000 would be paid to the heirs of each victim family, Rs100,000 to the injured, Rs200,000 for each damaged house and Rs100,000 for a partially damaged dwelling in the affected areas of the country,” he said.
He said the federal government along with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would reach every victim and affected family in the province.
“The federal and KP governments are together to help the victims and the affected families to rebuild their damaged infrastructure. We are not playing politics but want to serve the people at this critical time,” he stressed.
Nawaz Sharif announced that he would not tolerate any delay in the payment of compensation to the quake-affected families.
“Distribution of compensation among the victim families would start from Monday. I will not tolerate any delay in this regard,” he said.
He said the affected people of Gilgit-Baltistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas were also being assisted by the federal government.
“It is a national tragedy. The federal, KP and Gilgit-Baltistan governments stand united in serving people without any political considerations and interests,” he maintained.
Pervez Khattak said there should be no excuse for the unavailability of heavy machinery in the area. He said the DCO should have immediately exercised his powers in the emergency situation.
The district administration informed the prime minister that eight people had been killed in Dassu during the quake.
AFP adds from Chitral: Rescuers said on Thursday they believed they have reached most of those affected by the earthquake, but thousands of desperate survivors now face a race to rebuild with winter fast approaching.
The rugged terrain, severed communication lines and an unstable security situation have impeded relief efforts since Monday’s quake killed more than 390 people in Pakistan and Afghanistan and levelled thousands of homes.
But on Thursday Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said it believes it has reached “most of the affected area”.
A spokesman said helicopters are still searching for any survivors in the most remote, inaccessible areas of the mountainous region.
Pakistan’s confirmed death toll so far stands at 272, with more than 1,900 people injured and nearly 14,000 homes damaged, though the spokesman said the NDMA was still in the process of estimating a final toll.
Desperate victims, meanwhile, appealed for aid, expressing fears for children in particular who were forced to sleep outside in sub-zero temperatures as winter sets in.
“After November 15 there will be three to four feet of snow here and we have nothing to protect us,” said Mir Wali, whose village Charun Ovir rests 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) up the mountainside in the northwestern district of Chitral.
Dust is still rising from the mountain after the earthquake caused cracks in it, leaving villagers fearing a landslide or collapse.
“Whatever the government has to do, it should do before the snowfall,” he told AFP.
“After that the roads will be blocked and we won’t be able to save our children.”
Local officials in Chitral said they had few supplies to hand after the region was devastated by floods just three months ago.
“We usually have our own stock but we already consumed it during the floods,” said Muhammad Bahadur, an official in the village of Darosh.
Bahadur’s village had just 70 tents on hand when the quake struck, he said.
“Around 2,500 houses have been completely destroyed... Imagine how we can satisfy the need with only 70 tents?”
Mir Wali in Charun Ovir said the village had no electricity, no clean drinking water, and no medical facility.
Officials had handed out 49 tents to share between 150 to 200 households, he said.
Other survivors are already planning to leave if they do not receive help soon.
Shahroon, a Chitral villager who goes by one name, said if the government can help them rebuild before the snow comes they will stay.
If not, he said, “We will go to Rawalpindi or Peshawar or any other city and spend our lives begging on the roads”.