The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is providing Iran with an initial emergency grant of $90,000 to bolster relief efforts in the aftermath of Friday’s earthquake which rocked the southeastern part of the country, reported the UN News Service.
In New York, a spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the international community to provide immediate backing for efforts to help victims of the massive disaster. “The United Nations Country Team in Tehran has sent two teams to the affected area,” Annan’s spokesman said. “In addition, a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team has been dispatched to help coordinate relief efforts.”
Registering 6.3 on the Richter scale, the quake struck the town of Bam on December 26, in the Kerman province. OCHA said the city hospital had collapsed and the injured were being sent to Kerman. Telephone service and water and power supplies have been cut off, while some 60 percent of the area’s houses were destroyed.
Bam is famous for its ancient citadel, Arg-e-Bam, which has been registered as a world heritage site by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
