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Journalism of Courage
Survivors of the earthquake spent a sixth night in the open in the worst-hit city of Muzaffarabad, kept awake by the rumble of aid trucks and an aftershock early on Friday.
The aftershock measured 5.3 magnitude at around 2 a.m. on the U.S. Geological Survey’s sensors. Local meteorological officials said there were 70 aftershocks in a 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday, and the seismic activity was likely to continue for months and maybe years.
People who had been sleeping on the pavement leapt to the middle of the road, eyeing what was left of buildings warily before drifting back to sleep.
The aftershocks added to the misery of an estimated 3.3 million people affected by the quake, more than a million of them without homes and in desperate need not only of food and water but also tents and mobile latrines. With winter approaching, their survival is becoming a major worry.
The Army has begun airdrops to villages cut off from help in remote valleys of the Himalayan foothills of Pakistani Kashmir and North West Frontier Province.
Major General Farooq Ahmed Khan, in charge of relief operation, gave a chilling assessment of the chances of getting relief to those in need anytime soon: “It is an exaggeration that we will reach each and every person in a matter of days.”
