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WEEKLY
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| Quetta quake |
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Thursday, October 30, 2008
At least 150, and possibly many more, are feared dead in the quake that shook Ziarat and other towns in Balochistan at dawn on Wednesday. Villages around Ziarat, lying close to the epicentre of the quake that measured 6.5 on the Richter scale, are said to have been flattened. 500 houses are believed to have been destroyed. Officials say the actual figure may be considerably higher. It is not known how many are injured, but hospitals in Ziarat were overwhelmed by victims within an hour of the quake. Encouragingly, official response seems to have been quick, with troops deployed swiftly to help in rescue efforts and remove piles of rubble from streets. The media too has moved in quickly to areas that have been badly hit. An emergency was declared immediately in the province and hospital staff summoned to duty by the provincial administration. Perhaps some lessons then have been learnt from the disastrous quake of October 2005 that killed 74,000 in northern areas and Azad Kashmir. The ferocity of earthquakes can be terrible, their arrival hard to predict – but well-coordinated efforts can help limit human suffering. In this respect, the actions of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), set up after October 2005, may tell us a great deal about how much we have learnt. Initial confusion and chaos was a key feature of rescue efforts after the 2005 quake. Mercifully, the scale of this tremor seems much more limited, but some of the same factors apply as far as the task of coordinating relief is concerned.
It would of course be unwise to say too much till more details of the disaster emerge. But authorities need to remember that in a province where unrest has simmered for decades and has intensified in the recent past, all actions taken now will be closely watched. Bitterness in Balochistan over perceived failure to offer the province adequate aid after floods triggered by a cyclone in 2007 runs deep. People have complained of official indifference and military high-handedness. Baloch activists alleged international agencies were not permitted to offer help and expertise with the army taking charge of rescue work. Whether or not these accusations are entirely accurate, the sentiments that exist add to the undercurrent of distrust already present across the province. It must not now be allowed to grow. Already, the difficulties caused by lack of development in a province where communication networks are limited and hospital facilities inadequate have been exposed. Families from remote villages have had to bring relatives injured in the quake long distances in search of aid. Some are believed still to be trapped in hamlets where there are no doctors and no clinics. The full extent of damage in rural areas is indeed unknown. As we saw in 2005, poor infrastructure and under-development exacerbates suffering inflicted by calamity. Poor housing adds to death tolls. The quake in Balochistan must also be used as an opportunity to assure the people of the province that the rest of the nation stands by them. Such opportunities have been missed in the past. The same mistakes must not be made again. In this the federal government needs to take a lead and prove to the people of Balochistan its commitment to them.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
