Quake-Tsunami Devastation: Pakistan Joins Global Task Force for Aid
By Rafique Goraya - Pakistan Times Federal Bureau Chief

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Monday joined International Task Force to coordinate worldwide relief and international efforts for the regions of Asia, ravaged by the deadly earthquake, which was followed by blustery punches of Tsunami.

Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told reporters at the weekly briefing that relief assistance for the Tsunami victims is being given top priority by Pakistan and has dispatched its military cargo aircraft and naval ships to the affected areas with relief goods, doctors and medicines.

He said, the people of Pakistan have been deeply moved and shaken by the massive human tragedy that struck 12 countries of South and South East Asian regions.

"The scale and severity of the disaster and its aftershocks have bewildered and beleaguered the helpless victims and a sense of shock and sadness has swept across the entire nation of Pakistan."

Profound Sympathy

He said, President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have conveyed the sense of our profound sympathy towards these nations hit by untold devastations of the earthquake and tsunami.

They have expressed Pakistan's solidarity with these nations, and assured their leaders of fullest cooperation in rescue and relief operations.

Masood Khan said the Cabinet Division, Armed Forces of Pakistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were closely coordinating to provide timely humanitarian aid and relief assitance to the tsunami victims, under the directives of President and Prime Minister.

Relief Mission to Indonesia

He said Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar Monday led a relief mission to Indonesia.

He said around seven sorties of C-130 aircraft are being sent to provide assistance in the areas of relief, evacuation, removal of debris, rehabilitation, and immediate reconstruction. The Multi-Task Force of around 300, comprises an engineering unit and a field hospital

Pakistan, he said, is also sending another mission of Pakistan Navy ships - Khyber and Mua'awan - to Sri Lanka. On board, these ships have three helicopters, a marine Expeditionary Force, doctors, and paramedics. Besides, relief goods - medicines, medical equipment, food supplies, tents, blankets- are being sent
in huge quantities.

In his capacity as Chairman of SAARC, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz called for evolving a mechanism for putting in place an Asia-wide early warning and Disaster Response Regime to avert such disasters in future.

Recaps

Masood Khan said immediately after the disaster, Pakistan called for a coordinated regional and international response to deal with it consequences.

Within hours of a request from Sri Lanka, a consignment of relief assistance was airlifted to Colombo. Pakistan Navy ships, Tariq and Nasr, on a good will visit to the Maldives, saved 369 lives, conducted aerial surveys to judge the extent of damage, distributed food and medicines, and provided medical assistance.

On December-31, a C-130 aircraft, carrying relief items of tents, blankets, foodstuff and medicines was dispatched to the Maldives.

He said private charities- organizations, companies, and individuals- have also been mobilized to contribute to the President's Relief Fund.

Relief Operation

Meanwhile, the first team of military doctors, paramedics and engineers from Pakistan left for Indonesia on Monday to join hand in rehabilitation work of the affected people.

Two C-130 airplanes with relief goods and 250 doctors and engineers left for Indonesia, Director General ISPR told newsmen in a press briefing at Chaklala Airbase.

Six more C-130 will fly to Indonesia in a week to help in the relief work, he added.

UN receives record 1.5 billion $ Donations

Meanwhile, a report from Geneva says that the United Nations has received a record 1.5 billion dollars in one week in donations after the devastating tidal waves in the Indian Ocean.

"This is what the UN generally gathers in one year for humanitarian operations, it is an unprecedented amount," said Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

At the same time, the United Nations has stressed aid efforts for 1.8 million Tsunami sufferers, reports said on Monday.

To get a firsthand look at the devastation, a U.S. delegation including Secretary of State Colin Powell and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday begins a trip that includes stops in Thailand, Indonesia and perhaps Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, searchers all but gave up hope of finding more survivors from last week's killer earthquake and tsunami, with authorities saying Monday that thousands listed as missing were presumed dead. The world turned its full attention to getting food and water to the living. advertisement

Deaths in Indonesia

Confirmed deaths from the disaster reached 205,253 after hardest-hit Indonesia increased its death toll to 94,081, and Sri Lanka and Thailand both raised their tolls by lesser amounts. Aid agencies have said the death toll was expected to hit 150,000. Sri Lanka, India and Thailand said they were almost ready to give up on more than 15,000 still unaccounted for.

The Dec. 26 tsunami struck the region without any advance notice, and Indonesia announced plans Monday to work with its Asian neighbors to establish a system to warn coastal communities before potentially deadly waves hit.

Aid workers, meanwhile, were trying to help the millions of people displaced and devastated by the loss of family and friends put their towns and villages back together.

Philippines Mourns

And a story from Manila says that President Gloria Arroyo on Monday declared a national day of mourning on Friday for victims of Asia's earthquake disaster, saying the Philippines backed the creation of a regional tsunami early warning system.

"Were going to have a national day of prayer and mourning for those who perished in the tsunami on Friday," Arroyo told a news conference.

Arroyo also said she will attend a summit in Indonesia on Thursday where regional leaders are to discuss the coordination of the tsunami relief effort.

Tsunami-hit 1.8 million in dire need of food

Massive relief operations continued in Tsunami-hit countries. United Nations says about 1.8 million people are in immediate need of food as $ 3 billion aid was promised for the waves victims.

The first team of military doctors, paramedics and engineers from Pakistan will leave today for Sri Lanka and Indonesia to join hands for rehabilitation work of the affected people. In the first phase 165 engineers, 57 doctors and paramedics will leave by two C-130 airplanes from Chaklala Airbase today, while more teams would proceed to the Tsunami-hit countries next week to help in the relief work.

The situation of relief work in Sri Lanka and Maldives was improving but 90 percent relief work challenge will be in the Indonesian province of Aceh and other coastal areas of the country, which were devastated by the disaster with dead bodies floating on the water surface posing threat of an outbreak of epidemics, United Nations emergency relief operations coordinator said.

US helicopters were engaged in rescue operations at the Indonesian coast were airlifting people trapped in water.

Malaysia Opens airports

Malaysia has opened its airspace and two airports to US and UN relief operations for the tsunami-hit Indonesian province of Aceh, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

The UN World Food Programme would use an airport in Subang, a suburb outside the capital Kuala Lumpur, as a base to forward relief supplies to Aceh, the ministry said in a statement carried by local news agency.

Malaysia has also deployed aircraft and helicopters to help Indonesia transport supplies and tsunami victims from Aceh, it said.

Another earthquake hits near India's Nicobar islands

And a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the seas near the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands but caused nodamage, officials said on Monday, as India predicted its overall death toll from last week's tsunami disaster would exceed 15,000.

Assam sounds Quake Alert

India's Assam state government has sounded an official earthquake alert and urged people to be prepared for disaster, officials said Monday.

Spooked by the Tsunami Sunday devastation, panic gripped the northeastern state at the weekend after after media across the country picked up an earthquake warning from a US centre.

"We are taking the reports very seriously and hence alerting all government agencies, including police, army, the paramilitary, health officials, and fire fighters to be prepared to meet any natural disaster," chief minister Tarun
Gogoi told journalists.

"There is no need to panic, but then we must all be prepared to face any eventuality so that we are able to minimize the hardship and cope with the situation," Gogoi said after an emergency disaster management meeting Sunday night involving all government heads, besides top police, health, and fire officials.

The government also decided to organize a week-long earthquake awareness training campaign starting Saturday across the state of 26 million people.

"We need to educate and make aware the people of the state about what to do in the event of a major quake," said the chief minister. "We would be conducting training on disaster management in schools and colleges, besides involving village youths and community elders."

The Info Source

India's national and local media reported a warning from a Center for Earth Observing and Space Research at George Mason University in Virginia on Saturday saying the December 26 killer quake off Sumatra could trigger more tremors northwards towards Assam.

The region has registered at least half a dozen moderate tremors in the past two months. The state fire department said Sunday it had set up extra water reservoirs in most big cities and towns. "We are working overtime and trying to put all our resources together to meet a possible crisis," said Assam Fire Organization director J. Mipun.

Pilling of Water, Edibles

People in Assam were piling up stocks of water and other essentials and keeping to their homes. Two weeks ago, a similar quake prediction and a subsequent alert by the government sent thousands of people in Jorhat district, 300 kilometers (180 miles) east of Guwahati, fleeing their homes.

Across Assam, people performed special community prayers Sunday after news spread of a possible tremor hitting the hilly region. The seven northeastern states, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur straddle an earthquake prone zone.

Assam recorded a massive tremor measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale on August 15, 1950, that claimed some 1,500 lives. The Dec. 26 earthquake-spawned waves left at least 230,000 people dead in 11 countries, but aid agencies said that number could climb in days ahead.●