Pakistan Hit By 2 Earthquakes

Rashmi Mehere,

Correspondent (Asia — South)

 

ISLAMABAD — Two major earthquakes have hit Western Pakistan in September killing at least 540. The first earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred on Tuesday, September 24 in the Balochistan province. As rescue operations were on, another earthquake measuring 6.8 struck the Awaran district in central Balochistan on Saturday, September 28. Balochistan is a critical location because of the presence of separatist groups.

The earthquakes have affected Awaran, Khuzdar and four other districts of the sparsely populated Balochistan province. Majority of the mud houses and huts have been destroyed. Survivors have been forced to live in scarcely available tents or out in the open and many victims trapped under the rubble are yet to be rescued. A number of patients undergoing treatment after Tuesday’s earthquake fled the region after the second earthquake. Vast quantities of mud have spread into underground water sources, contaminating the water. Most of the villagers, who lived in abject poverty before the disaster, have been rendered homeless.

A new island has been formed 600 meters off the coast of Gwadar (as depicted in the satellite view to the left)— an unexpected byproduct of the tectonic activity. However, experts say that it may vanish within a few months. Telecommunications and road links that were partially damaged by Tuesday’s earthquake were completely shut down after Saturday’s aftershock. This has further complicated rescue operations.

As the disasters took place at the epicentre of the Baloch movement in Pakistan, army troops stationed there were the first to initiate rescue operations, causing tension among the Baloch nationalist rebels who consider this to be a tactic by the army to gain control of the region. Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a terrorist front as declared by the United Nations, has been active in sending aid to the affected villages. The group has also asked for donations through Twitter.

Even as Pakistani authorities appealed to the separatists to permit their rescue operations to proceed, two soldiers were killed on October 1 in the Mashkay area of Awaran by extremist forces and at least four were injured. As the day progressed, separatist gunmen executed four more attacks on the army.

As the army and rebel groups vie for control over Balochistan, survivors from impoverished villages such as Labach have been left to fend for themselves. While residents of villages like Teertaj refused to accept the tents and rations provided by the army. Clearly, this natural disaster is quickly turning into a political one.

Image Courtesy: By U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Timothy Smith [Public domain]; By NASA [Public domain] | via Wikimedia Commons