Earthquake aftermath
Nearly two weeks after a devastating earthquake buried Bam, relief workers are still trying to bring the southeastern Iranian city out of the rubble. Roshanak Taghavi reports from Tehran
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Two-year-old Mohamed Reza -- whose family survived the massive earthquake in Bam -- plays near the ruins of his family's home. With rescue operations effectively complete, survivors now begin the long road to reconstruction
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The last of the foreign rescue and relief teams searching for victims and providing emergency aid to survivors of the earthquake in Bam had left by early Sunday, Hassan Esfandiar, the Iranian Red Crescent's Head of International Operations, told Al-Ahram Weekly in a telephone interview on Sunday evening.
The emergency phase of relief operations began on the morning of 26 December, approximately four hours after a massive earthquake virtually destroyed the ancient Iranian city. Bam was reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) last week to have experienced at least 29 aftershocks measuring over three on the Richter Scale over the six days following the earthquake.
Members of the Iranian Red Crescent began to arrive in Bam the day of the earthquake and searched for survivors alongside members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and surviving residents of the Kerman province.
Actual emergency rescue and relief aid began to arrive on 27 and 28 December. Tehran Times reported that visa requirements for foreign aid workers were waived and Iranian airspace was opened up to foreign countries.
Emergency workers focussed primarily on locating survivors, providing immediate shelter, food, water and medical treatment to those left homeless by the earthquake. The majority of survivors stayed in basic tents set up near the wreckage of their former homes as nightly temperatures fell to near freezing.
There was concern about the spread of cholera, typhus and the start of an epidemic as workers continued to find and bury bodies eight days after the earthquake. As of Sunday, however, there were no longer any fears of a serious epidemic as all bodies had been buried and the near-freezing temperatures preserved bodies that were stuck under the wreckage.
Esfandiar told the Weekly that the most recent estimates placed the number of those killed at 38,000. One more survivor -- 97-year-old Sharbanou Mazandarani -- was reported by Iranian state television to have been discovered by relief workers late Sunday night. The Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported that five tourists from Britain, Germany and Switzerland were injured in the earthquake and are currently hospitalised in Tehran.
The MNA also reported early Monday that Hossein Fattahi, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' Division 41, placed the final number of injured at 17,000.
Foreign and local relief efforts are currently focussing on providing water, medicine, health and sanitation services, as well as basic relief items such as tents, blankets, medicine, food, stoves, kitchenware and baby supplies. Mohamed Ali Hadi, chief of Iran's Foreign Ministry's Crisis Headquarters for the Bam Earthquake, informed the IRNA that more than 150 planes carrying relief supplies and over 1,500 relief workers have entered Iran since relief operations began.
CNN reported on Saturday that Egypt donated four plane-loads of relief supplies. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates together pledged $400 million.
Washington meanwhile lifted sanctions against Iran for 90 days starting 27 December so that items such as transportation equipment, satellite telephones, radios and personal computing systems necessary for rescue and relief operations could be sent to Iran by American NGOs, AP reported. American citizens and non-profit groups may also donate money to NGOs providing relief in Bam now that the sanctions have been relaxed.
AP also reported that concerns over the psychological impact of the quake on survivors are beginning to increase, with United Nations officials cautioning that the number of survivors suffering from psychological disorders will rise as the number of casualties increases.
Local Iranians donated a considerable amount of money, food, clothing, tents, blankets, medicine and baby supplies to help victims of the earthquake. Relief efforts began in the Iranian capital Tehran on the day of the earthquake, as volunteers began donating and collecting relief supplies to be packed into buses leaving for Bam.
Donation boxes were set up on the day of the earthquake, and two bank accounts for the Welfare Organisation of the Islamic Republic were especially created for both Iranians and non-Iranians to donate money to build housing for residents left homeless.
Iranian authorities are now focussing on reconstructing the ravaged city, which will cost more than $480 million if rebuilt within the next two years, Iran Daily reported last week. Fakoor Pass, director of Cultural Heritage in Bam, told AP that the Bam Citadel, which was almost completely leveled by the earthquake, can be rebuilt in 10 years at a cost of $720 million.
Additional relief and reconstruction aid was offered by the United States, who asked Iranian authorities to consider allowing a high-level American delegation to provide more humanitarian assistance and help assess Bam's reconstruction needs, Iranian state television reported last week. The mission would be the United States' first official public visit to Iran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and would be headed by Senator Elizabeth Dole.
Iranian State television reported late Sunday night that former American First Lady Barbara Bush will accompany Senator Dole if Iran accepts America's offer. Iranian and American officials stated last Friday that Iran decided to postpone such a visit.
