In Pictures: American Red Cross Responds to India Quake

A Photo Essay by Christina Ward, Staff Writer, Redcross.org

Bhuj, India, February 4, 2001 — Aftershocks still rumble through western India 10 days after a violent earthquake killed thousands of people and flattened towns and villages throughout Gujarat state. In many of the affected villages in this region, people are afraid to sleep near their damaged homes, for fear of further collapse. But in some areas the destruction is so complete that families simply clear space in the rubble of their former houses and set up camp where the structure once stood. Some hang scraps of fabric to serve as roofs, but most sleep out in the open, frigid air. At this time of year in Gujarat, the temperatures drop into the low 30s (F) at night.

"All of our homes are gone," said Makagi R. Ahir, 22. "My entire house was destroyed -- thank goodness my family survived." Ahir's small village sits along the railroad tracks. "When the earthquake hit, I at first thought it was the train coming. But then everything started moving. When we ran outside, many of us thought it was a bomb."

An American Red Cross International Disaster Response team is in Gujarat assessing communities' most urgent needs and delivering supplies to them as quickly as possible. The photos below follow the progress of the team on the ground as they scramble to get Red Cross assistance to where it is needed most.

Photos

Barbara Wetsig, American Red Cross, and John Lopez, Indian Red Cross, set out from the Red Cross camp in Bhuj Saturday (Feb. 3) to do a needs-assessment in Anjar, a large town one hour to the east that was said to be greatly damaged after the quake. Such assessments are critical to disaster relief operations to ensure that the appropriate supplies are delivered to a population -- and that supplies go to those who need it most.
	After meeting with local leaders, Wetsig and Lopez discovered that about 3,000 people were confirmed dead in Anjar and its surrounding villages. Thousands of people are now homeless. For now, blankets and shelter are the most needed supplies, leaders said.
The village was razed by the quake's powerful tremors, reducing homes to piles of rock and rubble.
	On the drive back to Bhuj, the team stopped to talk to villagers outside Anjar. They confirmed the need for blankets and shelter.
The American Red Cross is distributing relief supplies to the villages surrounding Bhuj this week. A shipment of 5,040 wool blankets arrived late Saturday night from Bombay.
	Trucks driven by local drivers delivered the supplies from Bombay to affected communities around Bhuj.
A spacious tent warehouse was erected at the Red Cross base in Bhuj to store all of the relief supplies from national societies around the world.
	A Red Cross hospital was also built to treat those wounded in the quake. Nancy Retherford of the American Red Cross speaks to Indian Red Cross nurses who will staff the hospital.
With such widespread damage, providing relief to quake victims in all of the communities who need it is a daunting task.
	Those who survived the quake in Gujarat but lost everything, including family members, have expressed their gratitude for the much-neeeded assistance.