Calamity stricken: Aftershocks leave one dead in Lower Dir

Three smaller earthquakes felt in Northern Areas in less than four hours

SWAT/ PESHAWAR/ SHANGLA/ LOWER DIR: There has been no let-up in the aftershocks that have been felt across parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa since the October 26 earthquake.

One person died in Lower Dir as result of the aftershocks, while another injured person succumbed to his injuries in Swabi district.

The Lower Dir fatality occurred when a house collapsed in the Maidan tehsil of the district, in what seismic experts called aftershocks of the earthquake. Official sources said Tayabullah was in his house in Gambat area of the tehsil when the roof of his house caved in, killing him on the spot. The house was destroyed and the number of deaths in the district soared to 27.

In Swabi, an injured victim, Ghuncha Gul, of a building collapse in last Monday’s earthquake, succumbed to injuries Sunday morning at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, taking the death toll to four in Swabi, an area where destruction has been comparatively lesser.

In a day

Three earthquakes were felt in Pakistan over a span of less than four hours. The intensities of the tremors varied between a magnitude of 4 and 5 on the Richter scale, as per Pakistan Meteorological Department’s seismic monitoring centre. The origin for all the quakes was the Hindukush region.



National Seismic Monitoring Centre Islamabad Director Zahid Rafi told The Express Tribune, the seismic activity in the area was aftershocks. There were 95 aftershocks in the days that have followed the earthquake on Monday that measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. The recent earthquakes jolted Swat, Timergara, Peshawar and other areas in Malakand Division.

Swat

Scores of residents of Swat remain gripped with fear as aftershocks kept ripping through the district since October 26. People now prefer to stay outdoors rather than risk staying inside buildings.

Swat DC Aslam Wazir told The Express Tribune no one died or was injured in the aftershocks felt on Saturday night and Sunday evening. He explained the monitoring team informed him no losses were reported.

Relief work

More than 50 relief camps established by the army are providing free food and non-food items to the affected people, read a statement issued by Inter Services Public Relation. In the last 24 hours, 2,677 families were provided food packets, more than 3,000 tents and blankets were distributed in the affected areas.

Moreover, 19 special medical teams of the army have provided free of charge treatment to over 2,000 patients. Army Aviation helicopters have evacuated six patients and delivered more than five tonnes of rations and tents in the calamity-hit areas. To make way for the transport of relief goods, slides and boulders have been cleared of Lowari Tunnel-Darosh Road, Bahrain-Kalam Road and Kalam-Utroor Road.

Fatality in rescue efforts

In Shangla, a truck carrying relief goods fell into a ravine. Police from Jambal area said the driver of the truck died while a passenger was seriously injured. The vehicle was on its way back from Mustang, Chitral

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2015.