United Nations Emergency Team headed for Pakistan earthquake

(New York, 8 October): A United Nations emergency team is now en route to Pakistan to assist in the response to the major earthquake that struck the country today. "We know that every hour counts in an earthquake of this magnitude and the United Nations is ready to assist the country affected in any possible manner," said Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
The eight-member United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team will assist with ongoing assessment and coordination work, in response to a request made by the Government of Pakistan. The team will arrive in Islamabad in the morning of 9 October.

Strong tremors, recorded at the magnitude 7.4 on the Richter scale, were felt in northern Pakistan on the morning of 8 October 2005, rocking buildings in the capital Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Peshawar. There have been more than ten aftershocks of magnitude from 5.2 to 6.3. The army and the state administration continue to conduct rescue and relief operations. Massive destruction has taken place in six northern districts of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and in five districts of Jammu and Kashmir state, including Muzaffarabad. Most of the multi-story buildings and mud houses have collapsed and large-scale causalities and injuries have been reported. An eleven-story residential apartment building collapsed in Islamabad.

The high intensity of the earthquake in Pakistan was also felt in Afghanistan and across northern India. In India, where buildings have collapsed, official reports confirm the death of more than 200 people and more than 400 injured. There is minor damage in Afghanistan where two people are reported to have been killed.

Pakistan's national Emergency Relief Cell is dispatching 12 truckloads of relief supplies, six each to NWFP and to Jammu and Kashmir. Further dispatches will be made based on the assessment from the affected district administrations.

In Islamabad today, the United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) met with most of the international and national non-governmental organizations working in the field of humanitarian assistance. The UNDMT constituted three UN inter-agency rapid assessment teams: the first is led by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to be fielded to NWFP; the second by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to Jammu and Kashmir; and the third by the International Non-Governmental Organisations Forum to the Northern Areas. The teams will deploy on 9 October. The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has also dispatched two assessment teams, which will cover various areas, including Mansehra, Swat and Batgram.

The priorities highlighted by the Government of Pakistan for cooperation and support by the United Nations and donor community are in immediate relief response, search & rescue, and needs assessment.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has already released a $100,000 emergency cash grant for immediate delivery of relief aid. Air transport for the UNDAC team was provided by the Government of Switzerland.

For further information, please call: Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, cell +41 79 473 4570; Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, cell +1 917 892 1679; or Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262.