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Massive Relief Operation Underway in Iran
Written by
Bonnie Gillespie
, Staff Writer, Redcross.org
Tuesday, December 30, 2003 — While hopes of finding additional earthquake survivors amid the rubble of the Iranian city of Bam have faded, humanitarian relief efforts are growing in the wake of one of the greatest disasters of modern times.
An Iranian Red Crescent volunteer uses a search and rescue dog to sift through rubble left by the earthquake that struck the ancient city of Bam.
Image Courtesy of Alertnet |
Red Cross partners have already assisted more than 40,000 families displaced by the catastrophe that leveled communities in southeastern Iran on December 26, with the Iranian Red Crescent Society supplying 90,000 tents, 200,000 blankets, clothes, food, bottled water and other relief items to victims.
“The immediate priorities are shelter and water. We also need to guarantee the health of this vulnerable population,” said Martin Zak, who is coordinating the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies operation for Bam.
“The Iranian Red Crescent was the first humanitarian actor on the scene. And, as part of the community, it will remain. The various components of the Red Cross and Red Crescent family have shown a tremendous solidarity and commitment to offer assistance to the population of Bam not just in the coming days but also during the recovery and rehabilitation phases,” Zak added.
Preliminary estimates of casualties and the number of injured and affected continue to fluctuate. While there is not yet an official estimate of the number of dead, reports from government sources and media outlets range as high as 50,000 people killed.
The earthquake is reported to have measured between 6.3 and 6.7 on the Richter scale, according to SED, the U.S. Geological Survey and Iranian sources, and powerful aftershocks continue to shake the region. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Jamoriyan region, near the ancient city of Bam, about 115 miles (185 km) southeast of Kerman (capital city of Kerman Province) and 610 miles (975 km) southeast of Tehran.
Virtually all of the mud and brick buildings and houses in Bam were destroyed, and those that remain standing threaten to crumble with each aftershock. The two existing hospitals in Bam were also destroyed and relief teams are evacuating the injured to nearby hospitals and medical centers in neighboring cities and provinces.
All relief flights have been given priority clearance by the Iranian government and the international airport in Kerman is being used for this purpose. Almost forty aircraft are operating to transport thousands of injured from Bam to Tehran and other provinces.
Since the earthquake struck, some 50 Iranian Red Crescent relief teams consisting of more than 7,000 relief workers and medical personnel have been dispatched to the region, distributing relief supplies, establishing seven medical clinics and utilizing mobile medical units to provide treatment for quake victims. Additionally, more than 2,000 volunteers are on the ground in and around Bam and neighboring provinces, such as Zahedan, Bandar Abbas and Yazd.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has mobilized around the globe to respond alongside the Iranian Red Crescent Society by providing more of the much needed items such as tents, sheets, blankets, kitchen sets, generators and kerosene heaters.
A highly-trained Emergency Response Unit specializing in disaster relief is being deployed as a joint effort by the British Red Cross and Danish Red Cross, and the International Federation in Geneva has sent its own specialized team to coordinate information distribution and disaster management, and to assess plans for long-term rehabilitation in the region.
“This team will provide further assessment of the needs of the population affected, and the American Red Cross will continue to work with its partner national societies to assist the vulnerable in Iran,” said Douglas K. Allen, director of the International Disaster Response Unit at the American Red Cross.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies and their federation in Geneva have issued an appeal for 15.4 million Swiss francs (US$ 12.3 million) to bring desperately needed relief assistance to the victims.
Contacting Families in Iran
Phone communication has been partially restored, and those with family and loved ones in the region are being encouraged to continue to contact them by tradition means. When that falls through, the American Red Cross is there to help. Red Cross volunteers at local chapters will collect information on relatives believed to be missing and send these inquiries to staff at the American National Red Cross headquarters, who will then work directly with the Iranian Red Crescent society to locate missing family members.
Please Support the International Response Fund
You can help those affected by the earthquake in Iran and countless other crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance, and other support to those in need. Donate online or call toll free 1-800-HELP NOW (1-800-257-7575 for Spanish speakers) or you can mail in your gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.
To find out additional information on how to help earthquake victims, please visit our special page regarding donations for relief in Iran.
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