Rescue Efforts Continue After South Asia

At Least 20,000 People Killed in 7.6-Magnitude Earthquake

The 7.6-magnitude earthquake that hit South Asia early Saturday morning has killed more than 20,000 people, causing massive damage in Pakistan and affecting neighboring Afghanistan and India. Pakistan's president has requested outside help as rescuers try to reach the remaining survivors. Without sufficient resources and trained personnel, searchers are faced with landslides and other obstacles that are blocking access to damaged areas. The international relief effort is growing as the U.S. and other nations are sending supplies and assistance.

Antonella Notari , spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, was online Tuesday, Oct. 11, at noon ET to discuss the earthquake in South Asia and the recovery effort.

The transcript follows.

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Washington, D.C. : Is there anything I can do to help from the D.C. area? I speak decent Urdu and have plenty of time, but very little money.

Antonella Notari: You could contact your local American Red Cross chapter or even the American Red Cross headquarters office in Wash. DC. They may need help with filling in forms for families who are looking for a relative or friend in Pakistan. The ICRC has put up a Web site for people who are looking for news from the affected area but often people need help to fill in the form on the Web site. See the Web site www.familylinks.org to get an idea. The American Red Cross always needs good volunteers in such situations.

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Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: Where can a donation to the International Red Cross be sent for quake relief?

Antonella Notari: you may either go to www.icrc.org and click on help the ICRC. or you may go to the American RC Web site at www.redcross.org and follow their instructions for donations.

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Washington, D.C.: How long does the Red Cross stay in affected areas after a disaster like this? At what point does the focus shift from disaster relief to long term recovery (i.e. locally run reconstruction, etc.)? Thank you.

Antonella Notari: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) comes in to help with the emergency (live-saving) phase with staff and goods. The local Indian Red Cross or Pakistani Red Crescent societies will of course remain there for the long-term. What role they may play in actual reconstruction will depend on how the governments of India and Pakistan decide to organise the reconstruction, which is primarily their responsibility. To add that the ICRC has been active in the affected area for a while already, dealing with the humanitarian consequences of the situation that has affected the Kashmir area over the past years.

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Houston, Tex.: How is ICRC able to leverage cash donations? What % of my donation is used for administrative costs compared to that used for purchase of need items such as food and shelter?

Antonella Notari: Most of our donations, i.e. nearly 90% come from governments. Another part of the donations come from national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (who also contribute in kind and in personnel). When you give to the American Red Cross, they will use the money you give to either fund our operations or to fund their own action in the field (if they decide to go there with their own teams). I don't what part of your gift goes to admin and what part goes to operations if you give to the American RC.

Antonella Notari: Most of our donations, i.e. nearly 90% come from governments. Another part of the donations come from national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (who also contribute in kind and in personnel). When you give to the American Red Cross, they will use the money you give to either fund our operations or to fund their own action in the field (if they decide to go there with their own teams). I don't know what part of your gift goes to admin and what part goes to operations if you give to the American RC.

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Antonella Notari: As far as we know, many nations have offered help, in cash but also in experienced personnel. Often this is done through national Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies. For example, at the moment, we have teams from the UK, Finland, Turkey and many other countries either on the spot or arriving. I don't know about military help, but I would say that the majority of the experts being sent are not military but rather civilians who are experts in emergency relief (medical staff, logisticians, etc.).

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Washington, D.C.: How much help have you been able to give so far? What are your main impediments?

Antonella Notari: The main impediments are the state of destruction of the access routes and the remoteness of the areas affected. it's high mountain terrain. in Jammu and Kashmir India the So far the ICRC with the Indian RC has distributed sugar, tea, vegetables, medical supplies, blankets, kitchen sets. In Pakistan-administered Kashmir distribution starts tomorrow of 10'000 blankets and 2'000 tarpaulins brought in by road from ICRC Kabul. The ICRC plans to assist about 30'000 households there.

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Fairfax, Va.: Numbers-wise, how is the Red Cross handling this latest disaster? Katrina, Rita, now this. Are you in need of larger staff/volunteers? How long do you think the relief effort will be needed? After a certain period, does the help stop?

Antonella Notari: the Red Cross and Red Crescent is a large movement of organistions and people - mainly volunteers - who work in each country. the American RC for example mobilised thousands of American volunteers to help the Katrina victims. the Pakistani Red Crescent and Indian Red Cross societies have a lot of staff and volunteers who will help alongside the international teams. the ICRC has sent expert teams and so have other national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. these will work there to save lives and help people during the emergency phase. we can't say now yet how long this emergency phase will last but it looks like there is a lot of emergency work to be done, for some time.

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Twin Cities, Minn.: I read that access is a big issue, because of weather and/or terrain, in the rescue effort: Do you have any updates if this is also affecting Red Cross' ability to reach the victims in the earthquake affected areas easily?

Antonella Notari: yes indeed, access is very difficult because of the terrain, the destruction, the remoteness. but we have been able to reach Muzzafarabad by road yesterday already. starting tomorrow, the ICRC will use helicopters to fly in relief goods and to evacuate the wounded.

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Munich, Germany: How are efforts coordinated between the International Red Cross and other national organizations, such as the Pakistani or Finnish organizations?

In this case, who actually invites the International Red Cross into Pakistan? Is it the Pakistani Red Cross (Red Crescent?) Society or the Pakistani government? Does the Finnish Red Cross confer with you before sending people?

Antonella Notari: efforts are coordinated in Islamabad between the different bodies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement. we make sure that there is no overlapping and that everyone is clear about who does what where. the ICRC has been present in Pakistan since 1981 assisting victims of the conflicts in Afghanistan. the Pakistani authorities and the Pakistani Red Crescent society are of course aware and informed on what we do and the Pakistani RC is closely associated in relief operations following the earthquake. other national societies come in as partners of the ICRC (e.g. a British RC logistics team, a Finnish RC medical team etc. etc.), or as partners of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.

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Fairfax, Va.: I too feel helpless here, aside from donating money what else can we do? Is anyone collecting clothing and canned foods?

By the way I went to the Family Links site but I don't see anything that looks related to earthquake...

Antonella Notari: please go to the www.icrc.org and click on family links and click on South Asia earthquake. this service will be really effective when we have people on the ground helping the victims of the earthquake register themselves on the web site which will be the case in the coming days.

Please see with your local American Red Cross chapter about donations, in cash or in kind or in volunteer work.

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Arlington, Va.: What specifically have other nations been doing to help, besides sending money? Are any military or emergency personnel from the U.S. or other nations going to Pakistan to search for survivors?

Antonella Notari: As far as we know, many nations have offered help, in cash but also in experienced personnel. Often this is done through national Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies. For example, at the moment, we have teams from the UK, Finland, Turkey and many other countries either on the spot or arriving. I don't know about military help, but I would say that the majority of the experts being sent are not military but rather civilians who are experts in emergency relief (medical staff, logisticians, etc.).

Antonella Notari: Arlington, Va.: What specifically have other nations been doing to help, besides sending money? Are any military or emergency personnel from the U.S. or other nations going to Pakistan to search for survivors?

Antonella Notari: As far as we know, many nations have offered help, in cash but also in experienced personnel. Often this is done through national Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies. For example, at the moment, we have teams from the UK, Finland, Turkey and many other countries either on the spot or arriving. I don't know about military help, but I would say that the majority of the experts being sent are not military but rather civilians who are experts in emergency relief (medical staff, logisticians, etc.).

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Washington, D.C.: Does the United Nations have a disaster response team that is specially designed for situations like this?

Antonella Notari: to our knowledge they don't have a team as such, but a number of UN agencies, such as UNICEF, World Food Programme etc. are mobilising to respond within their field of competence. the UN will be an important part of the recovery effort.

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Batticaloa, Sri Lanka: How ICRC makes sure that the people with disabilities received the support that is being provided by ICRC in Pakistan?

Antonella Notari: hello Batticaloa (I worked there in 1992 and 93!). we are aware that disabled persons are among the most vulnerable and in need of special help. we work with local institutions to make sure that people with special needs will be cared for.

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Antonella Notari: Dear everyone, many thanks for your interest. Hope this was helpful. Please continue to look at www.icrc.org for further up-dates on help to the victims of the Kashmir earthquake. Many thanks. Good by

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