(ABP) — Rescue specialists from Hungarian Baptist Aid have joined the recovery effort in Pakistan, where the country's worst earthquake ever killed an estimated 41,000 people Oct. 8.
Other Baptist organizations — including the Baptist World Alliance, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Southern Baptist Convention — are supporting relief efforts either directly or with funding.
The Hungarian team includes 10 rescue specialists, two rescue dogs and 2.5 tons of equipment. A medical team is expected to follow.
“The immediate response by [Hungarian Baptist Aid] is to save lives that are trapped in the rubble and to provide immediate medical attention to injured survivors,” said David Harding, international coordinator for disaster response for the Fellowship, which has sent $10,000 through BWA to support the Hungarian rescuers.
The funds are channeled through Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, which in turn supports Hungarian Baptist Aid, a 9-year-old organization that has become a pacesetter in worldwide disaster relief. The Hungarian organization has assisted in numerous rescue missions in recent years in India and Iran, in Indonesia and Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami, and most recently in the United States following Hurricane Katrina.
“The search and rescue phase will transition to recovery and rebuilding,” Harding explained. “As resources become available, CBF will work through partners toward transformational development in parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India that have suffered from this catastrophic event. With more than 2 million people left homeless, it is a daunting, long-term task to rebuild.”
Rain, wind and cold were hindering rescue and relief efforts Oct. 11, three days after the 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit the remote Himalayan regions of India and Pakistan. Severe storms and hail grounded some relief flights out of Islamabad.
With an initial $150,000 in emergency-relief funds, Southern Baptist workers headed into the region Oct. 9 to assess critical needs and buy supplies. The aid likely will include food and medical supplies. Two Southern Baptist workers already have entered one of the most heavily damaged areas. “The devastation in mountain villages is vast due to landslides caused by the quake,” one worker told the International Mission Board.
The quake was centered in Kashmir, the disputed region that straddles Pakistan and India. In the Indian-controlled area of Jammu, a Bible college operated by the evangelical group Gospel for Asia was severely damaged and declared unusable, but no casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, a less-publicized disaster also prompted Baptist relief attention in Central America, where Hurricane Stan triggered mudslides that covered entire villages and left thousands homeless. The village of Panabaj in Guatemala was destroyed, with 1,400 villagers killed in a quagmire 40 feet deep in places, according to Baptist World Aid.
BWAid is working with local Baptists in Guatemala and El Salvador to provide relief. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship sent $5,000 to help in Guatemala.
El Salvador also suffered the eruption of the Ilamatepec volcano Oct. 1. While only two people were reported killed, many more were left homeless as volcanic lava and ash destroyed homes and villages.
— This article is based on reporting by Sue Poss, Paul Montacute and Erich Bridges.