Snow lashes Pakistan's quake zone

The heaviest rain and snow of the winter so far lashed Pakistan’s earthquake-hit areas today, grounding helicopters flying relief supplies and deepening the misery of survivors who huddled around camp fires to keep warm as temperatures plummeted.

Aid workers warned that cold weather in the Himalayan foothills, where temperatures have already fallen below freezing, may claim more lives after the magnitude-7.6 quake on October 8 left about 87,000 dead and 3.5 million homeless.

Helicopters from the UN, foreign militaries and Pakistan’s army, which have been delivering winter tents, clothes, food and other provisions to survivors, suspended flights due to poor visibility today.

The weather is likely to clear up enough for helicopter flights to resume by tomorrow, officials said.

The UN estimates 2.5 million people are living in tents below 5,000ft, while 350,000-400,000 others are in higher areas – where it is feared snow and rain will make it harder for helicopters and trucks to reach them.

Throughout today, cold rain pounded the quake zone and about 12 in of snow fell above the 6,000ft) level, said Qamar-uz Zaman Chaudhry, head of Pakistan’s Meteorological Department.

Tonight, heavy snow also blanketed Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and the logistical centre of the humanitarian operation. Residents reported that roads leading to the higher mountains were blocked by vehicles stuck in snow.

Chaudhry said more snow and rain were likely over the next two days.

As the cold spell chilled the sprawling tent cities that have sprung up in Pakistan’s north-west and in Kashmir, survivors struggled to keep warm around camp fires and candles, which exposed them to yet another danger.

Police reported that three young sisters were killed when a fire swept through a tent in Gul Deri, a village in north western Pakistan.

The fire was caused by a candle lit inside the tent that the family had pitched next to their home, which was destroyed by the quake, police said.

Last month, seven people, including four children, died in a similar accident, and the UN said it has started teaching people how to make safe fires.

In Muzaffarabad and nearby areas, survivors said the rain and snow were making their lives miserable.

Sajjad Ali Shah, a 38-year-old resident of a damp, riverside camp in Muzaffarabad, said people had dug drains around their tents to stop rain from entering, but the ground had become wet.

“We wrap our children in blankets, but it is very cold,” he said.

In snow-covered Sudhan Gali, a high mountain village south of Muzaffarabad, Shabbir Ahmed Khan expressed fear that canvas tents may not be able to withstand the weather.

“Our houses have been destroyed in the earthquake and these tents are not sufficient to protect us from snow. There is no place where we can hide ourselves,” said Khan, a former soldier. “We need steel sheets for shelter. Our children are shivering with cold.”

Ithar Jan Bibi, a woman in another village near Muzaffarabad, said she was running out of food that aid workers distribute every 15 days, and she was not sure whether the next handout would arrive on time because of the bad weather.

“I cannot make fire in the tent and I do not have dry wood to burn,” she said. “It is impossible to fetch water in the snow.”

Major Farooq Nasir, an army spokesman in Muzaffarabad, said army engineers would keep roads open when bad weather grounded helicopters.

The army said it has stored seven days of food supplies at 16 emergency supply bases in areas likely to be cut off by heavy snow.