Relief flights into the Himalayan region of Kashmir – the area most affected by the massive 7.6 quake that killed 38,000 – were halted because of heavy rains Sunday, leaving whole communities and villages inaccessible by both governmental and charitable aid groups.

|PIC1|"About 20 percent of the populated areas have yet to be reached," said U.S. State Department official Geoffry Krassy, according to the Associated Press.

The Pakistani military reported that one of its transport helicopters flying an aid mission crashed in bad weather while returning home late Saturday after dropping off relief workers in the town of Bagh. All six military personnel aboard were killed, either because of bad weather or a technical malfunction.

The weather marked another roadblock to getting aid in to the 3.3 million left homeless by the quake. Other factors that had slowed down the relief process were mudslides in the mountainous areas and bandits running off with truck-loads of aid.

The aftershocks, thousands of which continued after the monster temblor hit last Saturday, also exacerbated the situation with quake victims fearing to return to their homes. Many families refused to re-enter their homes despite rain, choosing instead to live in makeshift tents or vehicles.

"My house is full of cracks, and I won't go inside," said Bagh resident Mumtaz Rathore, huddled under a plastic sheet with his wife and four children, according to AP. "Look at me, I have to live out here with my children."

To date, only 18,000 tents have been distributed in the entire quake zone, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Saturday. The country’s relief commissioner had earlier said that 100,000 were needed.

|TOP|In response Christian groups around the world have been gathering tents, blankets, food, and water from supporters to provide such immediate aid supplies. The Evangelical Fellowship of Asia, whose members are still recovering from the last winter’s devastating tsunami, released an “immediate appeal” for “tents beddings and blankets.”

“There is an immediate need to get these organised, especially with the onset of winter within the next few weeks,” the group wrote in a press statement. “EFA is dispatching a container load of blankets, bedding, sleeping bags etc from Sri Lanka to Pakistan with immediate effect.”

With the torrential rains, the need for shelter has become ever more urgent. According to reports from the scene, pounding rain has flooded cities and the makeshift tents that were pitched across dirt fields.

"It has been a tragedy and now this rain has made everything so much more horrible for people," said Sajid Hussain, a doctor in Bagh, to AP.

Meanwhile, temperatures in the areas outlaying the Himalayan mountains dropped to as low as 44 degrees. High wind drove the rain down to the worst-hit towns and victims watched the snow fall on the nearby mountains.

Search and rescue teams have already halted their operations, and the mode has been shifted to helping the survivors. Prime Minister Aziz emphasised that shelter for these survivors is now the priority.

"We need tents, tents, tents and prefab housing," he told reporters.






Elaine Spencer
Christian Today Correspondent