Still The Tear Drops Have Not Been Dried

On December 28, as a strong earthquake swept off the ancient city of Bam, Iran the death toll seems to have passed 30,000. The chance of additional people surviving under the ruins is very low, slowing the rescue work.

As the corpses are decaying increasing the chance of diffusing disease around the area and plunderers have become rampant, the people who managed to save their lives from the tragedy, are faced with another danger.

The officially confirmed number of dead is 22,000. But, province authorities expected on December 29 that, “The final death toll will come up to the level of 30,000.”

The Iranian Interior Ministry spokesman remarked that, “We will keep on with the rescue work, until the rescue team believes that there are no more survivors.” The Iranian official news agency, IRNA, has said that, “Approximately 1,000 people have been saved from the ruins on December 27 and 28.”

But, according to the experts, the longest survivors can ride out the disaster under rubble is only 72 hours, and additional survivors are hard to expect.

As the complaints about the Iranian government’s preparation for natural disasters increases, Mohamed Khatami, the Iranian president, visited the problematic area on Monday and relieved the refugees.

Survivors are faced with another disaster. Plunderers who target rescue goods have become rampant. The trucks originally packed with the goods were empty when it entered the city, foreign news agencies reported. The Iranian military has decided on to establish the checkpoints on the road to Bam.

The rescue teams are anxious about disease spreading out because of the decaying corpses. Currently, the copses are rolled with blankets and buried in the ground with a sterilizer.

Still the rescue organizations are lacking in the manpower to rescue the survivors, and tens of thousands of refugees are suffering from the harsh coldness, staying outside on the street.

Experts have warned that, “The capital city, Teheran, will not be safe from a strong earthquake. If an earthquake over a 6.0 magnitude hits Teheran where 12 million people live, about a million people will be killed and another 4 million people will be wounded.”

“As for Teheran, a strong earthquake rolls around in every 150 years,” remarked the disaster prevention official in Teheran, adding, “Though three earthquake belts pass under the city, the buildings have not been set up with an earthquake resistance system.”

He also pointed out that, “In the current complicated road map of the city, rescue teams would face difficulties even in approaching the area, if an earthquake takes place.”

On December 28, at least 45 foreign airplanes packed with rescue teams arrived, including the team from the U.S.

From Switzerland, Turkey, Germany, the U.K., Italy, Finland, Spain, Poland and others, rescue teams have arrived, with other countries are eager to follow them up. The International Committee of the Red Cross also decided to supply 35 tons of rescue goods such as blankets and medicines.

Iranian officials have disclosed that more than 500 helicopters and airplanes have been marshaled to transfer the wounded and the dead since the earthquake took place. But, on the other hand, one of the Iranian Navy helicopters that delivered rescue goods on December 28, crashed leaving three people dead.

Seung-Jin Kim sarafina@donga.com