Tuesday, October 11, 2005

South Asian Quake Update

People are complaining about the slow response to the more remote areas. Has anyone in the media bothered to check a map? Not just any map, but a topological map.

We're talking about remote areas where the mountains are routinely over 15,000 feet, mountain passes are blocked due to rockslides, and the weather sucks right now so that the helicopters that can ferry in supplies and relief aid are grounded.

There's also a shortage of helicopters that can ferry in supplies. That's not a surprise. Not that many countries have the kinds of numbers necessary to ferry in the huge amount of supplies and fewer countries still have the ability to get those helicopters to the affected region.

The US military is the only one that can provide the logistical assistance necessary. That's not a surprise. We've been doing it for quite some time - starting with the South Asian tsunami relief mission, followed by the Gulf Coast hurricane relief, and now the South Asian earthquake relief mission.

The death toll is now well over 35,000 and is expected to rise much higher as relief efforts push into more remote areas.

Confederate Yankee has very good updates. Also, be sure to check out South Asia Quake Help blog, which was set up by the folks who arranged the original South Asia Quake and Tsunami Page.

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