RIYADH/JEDDAH, 9 October 2005 — Expatriates across Saudi Arabia expressed their shock and horror at the scale of destruction caused by yesterday’s earthquake.
Both Pakistanis and Indians from across the Kingdom tried desperately to establish contact with their relatives and friends residing in the quake-hit areas.
“I tried several times to contact my relatives in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, but failed miserably as it looks essential services including telephone have been badly affected,” said Muhammad Naeem, manager of a shoe outlet on Sari Street in Jeddah. “I was able to contact Rawalpinidi to know my daughter is safe,” he said.
“We’re all keeping our fingers crossed after we heard Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s spokesman that the death toll from a major earthquake that struck Pakistan Saturday might be in the thousands,” Rahmat Khan, a Pakistani construction engineer, said adding that the death could be in thousands since the massive quake has hit the entire Kashmir region and also other parts of Pakistan and India. The epicenter of the quake was in west Muzaffarabad.
“I wonder what’s happening to my uncles and cousins who live in Mansehra district, which is the other mountainous northern district badly hit by the quake,” Sultan Aziz, a Pakistan international school teacher, said.”
A major earthquake rocked North India, Pakistan and Afghanistan forcing people to rush out of their residences.
“I was talking to my parents in Delhi in the morning and just then they told me the chandelier and ceiling fan of the room were shaking,” Abdul Salam, an Indian executive, said. “They later informed me it was due to the quake, which was recorded at 9:25 a.m. and felt in the capital and adjoining areas in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
A Kashmiri doctor working in Jeddah, who requested anonymity, said he had been monitoring the situation, especially in the Indian part of Kashmir, as his relatives and friends lived in Srinagar and Baramulla. “Massive destruction has been caused in Uri sector in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, which falls close to the epicenter of today’s severe earthquake,” he said, adding that his friend had told him about his brother and daughter being among the fatal casualties in the quake. “Some miscreants have also been sending SMS messages that another severe quake or tremor was expected early Sunday morning.”
In Riyadh, Shaikh Mohammad Iqbal, a hotel executive, said part of a wall in his house in Srinagar fell down creating panic at home, while his son fainted in school. The impact was particularly severe in the border area of Baramulla. “I spoke to my wife. She is scared, since tremors are still being felt in the aftermath of the earthquake. All government offices are closed. There is a state of panic in the city, “he added.
Middle East Association of Pakistanis’ Secretary General Shamshad Ali Siddiqui said it had launched a fund-raising drive for the thousands feared dead in Pakistan. “We’re coordinating our efforts with the Pakistan Embassy,” he said, adding that a joint meeting of all associations will be held soon to spearhead their fund-raising drive. “We’ve been trying to contact our friends and relatives in Pakistan, but the call is not going through, since all the international lines are jammed. People here are really worried, but there is no way of contacting them,” he added.
Adding confusion to the situation a fire broke out in Uri that damaged some houses. “All my Kashmiri brothers here are very much concerned about their relatives, as tremors are being felt intermittently in Srinagar and other places of the Kashmir valley. We couldn’t verify reports of house collapse in Batut and Doda, as there has been no phone contact,” Azad Muhammad, another Kashmiri expat said.
