More rain, snow buffet quake zone

MUZAFFARABAD: Heavy rain and snow buffeted the earthquake-hit areas for a second day , adding to the misery of millions of survivors camped out in tents and crude shelters, as doctors reported increasing respiratory infections among survivors.

Poor visibility forced a suspension of flights by helicopters from the UN, foreign militaries and the Pakistan Army, which have been delivering winterised tents, clothes, food and other provisions to survivors.

There were conflicting reports about major roads leading to Muzaffarabad. Nasir said they remained open, but aid workers said they were either blocked or hazardous. A road to Chakothi, on the Line of Control, was blocked by a landslide about 15 kms from Muzaffarabad, according to reports.

The UN deputy humanitarian coordinator, said that the harsh weather had forced 100 families to move from the mountains to a Mira camp near Battagram in the NWFP on Sunday. He said tents were damp, and aid workers were distributing high-protein foods and warm clothes to children. "It’s what we have been fearing all along," he told foreign news agency.

Azad Kashmir and the north-western parts of the country have had least two feet of snow since Saturday evening. The Met Office forecast more, with strong, chilly winds and subfreezing temperatures over the next few days. Met office official Muhammad Aslam said rain and widespread heavy snow was expected until Saturday. Temperatures will likely dip to -6 degrees Celsius in the plains, and to -14 degrees Celsius in the mountains, the Met Office said.

Heavy snow fell across high ground and rain drenched valleys overnight, triggering some tent collapses and landslides but the military, coordinating a huge relief effort with aid groups, said there had been no reports of major incidents.

More than two million people have been camping out since the quake in tents or flimsy shelters built in the rubble of their homes. They said heavy snow had brought down tents in the remote, high-altitude Allai Valley as well as in some parts of Azad Kashmir.