Blankets, tents shipped to avert second disaster
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With the onset of winter in Pakistan, the Church is sending more blankets and tents to help earthquake victims in the Muslim country avert a "second disaster" brought on by freezing temperatures and harsh conditions.
The winter supplies — 150,000 blankets and 5,000 winterized tents — were purchased this week in China and India and have been sent to the region where a 7.6 magnitude earthquake destroyed or severely damaged 90 percent of the homes Oct. 8.
Islamic Relief Worldwide, a Muslim humanitarian organization, will distribute the supplies.
The aid is sent in addition to 400 tons of relief supplies — including 50,000 blankets, 300,000 pounds of medical supplies, 42,000 hygiene kits, 1,000 winterized tents — which have already reached the country, where winter season starts in November and ends in March, said Garry Flake, director of Church Emergency Response.
"The Church has already helped in a major way, and it has been very appreciated by both the recipients and the government of Pakistan," he said.
The largest earthquake to hit South Asia in a century, the disaster also struck northern India and Afghanistan. The Church has also monitored and responded to the same incident in India, sending winter clothing and blankets and donating $100,000 to the India Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
In Pakistan, the earthquake killed 73,331 people, seriously injured 69,392 and left 3.3 million people homeless, according to Pakistan's government.
Brother Flake said the aid came after a Latter-day Saint team visited the disaster zone and assessed needs and heard appeals for help from the Pakistani government, the United Nations and others.
The supplies, he said, "will be delivered as soon as they can to help families trying to meet their needs this winter." Pakistan's weather office forecasts as much as 10 feet of snowfall this winter on mountains above 8,000 feet in the earthquake region.
"The most urgent needs still are tents and blankets," said Brother Flake. "We are trying to help avert the 'second disaster' that winter can bring."
He said the government has urged victims to stay in their homes where they can watch over their livestock and avoid illness common in tent cities.
The Church's partnership with Islamic Relief helps Church aid reach those in remote areas, said Brother Flake. They paid much of the transportation costs for the first wave of Church-donated supplies. The two organizations have partnered in the past, including after the tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia last December.
Brother Flake said the aid is made possible by the generous contributions of Church members and others to the Church's Humanitarian Fund and is a continuation of the Church's efforts "to reach out across the world to help the most desperate."
