ABU DHABI // Relatives and friends of those affected by Monday’s earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan have been desperately trying to make contact with their loved ones.
People ran out of their homes when the quake struck said Irfan, a Pakistani taxi driver in Dubai.
“[They said] there was a loud and terrifying sound, the building shook and the ceiling fans of our two-storey house moved as if it was on a swing,” said Mr Irfan, who phoned relatives in Gujranwala town in northern Pakistan when he heard the news.
“They were scared by the loud sound and said the house shook far more than the earthquake in 2005. But my family is safe and there has been no damage to our home. They said the tremors lasted longer than the 2005 earthquake.”
The 7.6 magnitude quake on October 8, 2005 killed an estimated 75,000 people.
Dr Zia ul Hassan, an endocrinologist at the North West clinic in Jumeirah from Peshawar, said people were worried since it would take a few days to assess the damage.
“We are in a state of shock, very anxious and worried,” he said.
“Everyone is calling relatives back home because a fairly wide area has been affected and information is scarce. The scale of the earthquake is such it will be a few days before we know the magnitude. Our community abroad is worried and wanting to help.”
There was damage reported in the inner city areas of his hometown Peshawar, said Dr ul Hassan.
The Pakistani embassy said it was monitoring the situation and awaiting more information.
“This was a massive earthquake and due to the impact there is a fright among the community here,” said Asif Durrani, the Pakistan ambassador.
“But our people are resilient. They have faced disasters before and handled calamities. We are monitoring information and will share information with the community and are ready to help.”
Noor Al Huq, 24, from Kabul works as a cashier at a restaurant in Dubai.
He said the children at home were scared.
“There hasn’t been such a severe earthquake in Afghanistan in the recent past,” he said.
He has a family of about 30 people including siblings back in Kabul.
“Not our area, but other places have been badly affected. My family said they had to vacate the house and they were standing in the garden outside the house for around 15 minutes. It was quite severe. In our relative’s house the glass broke while the walls crashed at the house of a family member.”
Khalid Sarfaraz, 34, a business information system analyst in Abu Dhabi, said: “Alhumdulillah everyone back home are fine. The first thing I did when I heard of the earthquake was call home as my parents and siblings are in Karachi.
“Thankfully, there was no difficulty in communicating with them. I was worried ... as there are high chances of communication lines getting disturbed.”
Enayet Shah, 26, an Indian finance professional residing in Dubai, contacted his family in the Indian capital when he heard of the earthquake.
“I have cousins and family in Delhi and when I called them they said the earthquake lasted for an entire minute and was very strong. Thankfully, they are all fine and no one was hurt,” said Mr Shah.
South Asian missions have urged residents in the UAE to remain calm and get in touch with their embassies for assistance.
Mohammed Abdul Wahid Khan, press counsellor at the Pakistan consulate in Dubai, said: “Earthquake of such magnitude were witnessed after 10 years in Pakistan. On October 8, 2005, we had such a huge earthquake.”
Northwest of Pakistan has severely been affected the earthquake and all emergency and rescue operations are under way.
“Particularly north of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is badly hit and much damage to properties were reported,” Mr Khan said.
“We are in contact with the government. The government is assessing the situation and exact figures for damage and casualities will be released later,” Mr Khan said.
The Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi also asked its residents to contact their relatives first to know exactly what happened back home.
TP Seetharam, Indian ambassador to the UAE, said: “Get the information first from their near and dear ones. We would assist people in whatever manner possible. We will make available the contact numbers from where they can get accurate information.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae
anwar@thenational.ae
arizvi2@thenational.ae
