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Epidemic warnings for quake survivors
BHUJ, India -- Aid agencies in India's quake-hit northwest say there is a serious risk of epidemics from water contaminated by the thousands of bodies still lying under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Eight days after the devastating earthquake struck, hundreds of thousands of survivors are facing years of living in tent cities, relief workers say. No major outbreaks of disease have been reported yet, but aid agencies say malaria, cholera and severe diarrhea could rapidly spread through the crowded survivor's camps which have little or no running water or toilets. There are also increasing reports of respiratory problems in the young and old, the result of survivors being forced to sleep out overnight when temperatures drop dramatically.
Officials in Gujarat state, which bore the brunt of the quake's devastation, say the region was already suffering from the effects of a severe drought adding to the health risks posed by contaminated water.
On Saturday morning the first of seven U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying supplies, equipment, and the personnel to unload it arrived in the Gurerati capital, Ahmedabad. U.S. officials say one of the major bottlenecks hampering the flow of relief to quake victims has been lack of people to take the goods off planes. Many survivors say they have received little or nothing in the way of aid and as desperation increases there are growing reports of looting. With whole towns and villages leveled by the disaster, authorities have begun dynamiting some of the few buildings left standing but considered structurally unsound. The quake lasted just 90 seconds, but relief workers say they are still only just beginning to assess the scale of the disaster. The official death toll from the quake now stands at well over 15,000. That figure is expected to rise considerably, but the final toll may never be known.
On Friday Pakistan's military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf telephoned Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to offer his condolences over the massive loss of life and property caused by the quake. According to an Indian government spokesman Vajpayee thanked the Pakistani leader for his country's assistance, including planeloads of blankets and relief supplies. He said the rapid response of the Pakistani authorities was greatly appreciated by the Indian people. The call was the first contact made between the two leaders since Musharraf took power in Pakistan in 1999 and has raised hopes that the quake's aftermath could mark a departure from years of animosity between the two countries. Tensions have run high with Pakistan over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir and peace talks have been hold on since 1999 when the neighbors stood on the brink of a fourth war. "Pakistan and India should seize this opportunity to address the legacy problems, not only to address them but resolve them in the context of humanitarian relief," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said earlier. In the Indian capital, New Delhi, opposition parties have criticized the government for what they say is its slow and poorly coordinated response to the disaster. "There should have been better coordination between the government and NGOs (non-governmental organizations). The disbursement of relief by the government has been tardy," said Anand Sharma spokesman for the opposition Congress Party. RELATED STORIES: Disease fears cloud India quake relief work RELATED SITES: U.S. Geological Survey |
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