Tens of Thousands of Afghans Need Shelter, Blankets Following Earthquakes

Catholic Relief Services
Tuesday, 26 March 2002

Shelter and blankets are among the most urgent needs for thousands left homeless by a series of earthquakes in Afghanistan's remote northern province of Baghlan, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) staff in the country are reporting. Between 1,200 and 5,000 are feared dead and as many as 20,000 left homeless from the earthquakes, which centered in the Hindu Kush Mountains, about 75 miles north of the capital, Kabul. The strongest of the earthquakes measured 6.0 on the Richter Scale and was felt as far away as Peshawar and Islamabad, Pakistan.

"Suitable shelter and blankets are the critical, immediate needs," said David Swanson, CRS' interim head of office in Kabul. "It is still very cold in this remote, mountainous region."

Swanson added that CRS has 3,000 tents, 3,000 blankets and food items available for delivery. The agency is assessing other immediate needs as well as delivery options.

It is expected that emergency rescue and relief efforts will be complicated by the treacherous, snow-bound routes leading to the Nahrin district – the area most devastated by the earthquake – where nearly all homes have been destroyed. The area, also wracked by drought and food shortages, is home to an estimated 82,000 people, many of them refugees recently returning to their homes.

In recent months, CRS has distributed emergency food and materials items to 180,000 people inside Afghanistan. The agency is also planning long-term development programs in the areas of education, agriculture, water management and infrastructure reconstruction.

Catholic Relief Services is the official overseas relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic community. Founded in 1943, the agency provides assistance to people in more than 80 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Catholic Relief Services provides assistance on the basis of need, not race, creed or nationality.

For more information, or to contact Catholic Relief Services, see their website at: www.catholicrelief.org