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Save the Children Distributing Supplies to South Asia Earthquake Victims
Westport, CT (October 9, 2005) –
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An Indian student cries outside a school building following the earthquake that shook cities and villages across the south Asian subcontinent on Saturday. Reuters/Amit Gupta, courtesy www.alertnet.org |
Save the Children is mounting a major humanitarian response to assist children and families injured and left homeless from the deadly earthquake that struck the subcontinent of South Asia late Friday night (eastern US time).
“Our first convoy of trucks loaded with 900 tents and 1,000 “family packs” will arrive in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan tomorrow afternoon, and we will begin immediate distribution,” said Rudy von Bernuth, who heads Save the Children USA’s emergency response team. “Our initial assessments in this region of northern Pakistan show enormous devastation in many rural communities and soaring death tolls.”
A “family pack” contains 1 tent, 5 blankets, plastic sheeting, 5 gerry cans and a food for one family for a week, including flour, sugar, rice, tea, dal channa, edible oil, salt, mixed spices, tea whitener, matches and water purification tablets.
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| A map of the area affected by the South Asian Earthquake. |
Save the Children is expecting to receive a cargo plane of supplies in Islamabad tomorrow morning provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID.) The plane contains 5,000 blankets, 250 rolls of plastic sheeting for temporary shelters, and 5,000 gerry cans for water distribution. A convoy of trucks will be waiting on the runway to offload the supplies and transport them to communities in the North-West Frontier Province.
Described as the worst earthquake ever to hit Pakistan, government authorities on Sunday reported at least 19,000 dead and more than 42,000 injured in Pakistan alone, with the death toll rising almost by the hour.
Save the Children assessment teams have reported large-scale destruction in many rural areas north of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, where Save the Children has operated programs since 1985 and is mounting its response to the disaster.
The city of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, also appears to have suffered very high casualties, with 70 percent of the city destroyed, according to press reports.
“It is very clear that there is a great need for shelter and food on a large scale,” said Bruce Rasmussen, Save the Children USA’s Field Office Director in Pakistan. “Temperatures are dropping at night and children and families have lost all of their belongings. Medical supplies and support are needed as the injured begin to trickle out of the worst-hit areas. This trickle may soon turn into a flood.”
Save the Children is coordinating with the Pakistani government, the U.S. government, the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations in meeting the needs of families and children in the worst hit areas of Pakistan as well as assisting families impacted in India and Afghanistan.
"Our initial response will be focused on meeting the immediate needs of children and their families, including providing food, water, medicines and temporary shelter," said Von Bernuth.
“Once again we are calling on the American public to support our emergency response efforts as they have for our work in assisting children impacted by the December 26 tsunami in South Asia and the recent hurricanes on the Gulf Coast."
Media Contact: Mike Kiernan, 202-261-4686; cell phone: 202-460-0614; email: mkiernan@dc.savechildren.org
