Three Nations Affected by South Asia Earthquake

Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan were hit by a very powerful (7.6 magnitude)earth quake near the border between Pakistan and India. Pakistan was hardest hit, reporting a death toll of 19, 136, almost all of them in the disputed border area of Kashmir. Sadaqat Jan, reporting for the Associated Press, details the natural disaster here.
The other natural disaster in the news is the mudslide triggered by Hurricane Stan in Guatemala. This Reuters story describes how approximately 1,400 people were buried beneath the slopes of a volcano. "Mother Nature" seems to be on the rampage.
The BBC News asked people if they were affected by the earthquake. People from all over the world responded with two entire pages of poignant personal comments. Many of the people related that they had been somewhat out of touch from the news because it is the holy period of Ramadan.

• As I read the stories, I became aware of how familiar were some of the phrases: a mideastern man living in Delaware reported his sisters and cousins were safe in Banda Balola. Mohsin in Pakistan is ready to work as a volunteer. Ignacio in Spain is looking for a missing tourist guide friend. Someone from Dubai says that her friend's sister is under debris and, "but now Allah knows the inside truth." I was reminded of how quickly worried people posted "missing persons" signs near the two collapsed towers in New York. And I realized that the spirit of volunteering, going distances to help strangers, is vibrant all over the world, whether in Central or North America, or the Middle East.
• Someone from Punjab India laments that "this is going to be the next worst example of relief efforts because none of the governments had a plan about what they need." Maman, from Lahore, Pakistan also lamented the lack of preparedness and wondered "what would happen to us if we were at war." Affan, from California calls for people to pray and characterizes the offers of help from Britain and the U. S. as "an insult, and despicable." A resident of Belgium also feels insulted by the offers of "$100,000 from Bush and 100,000 pounds from Blair." Erum in Singapore asks for prayers, and for help for his brothers and sisters in Pakistan, from world leaders "without any boundaries." I am remembering how difficult it is for governments to help when disaster strikes, and how much people depend on their governments for help when the events are too big to handle.
• A California man identifies with people's decisions to sleep outside and feeling fearful in aftershocks. Rida in Islamabad reports that everyone has been awake all night. I am contrasting the difference in experiencing a hurricane, for which there is warning, and an earthquake, where often there is little or no warning. PTSD synptoms will persist with many disaster victims for a long time in either case.
• Esam, also in Islamabad, proposed creating a volunteer centre to coordinate relief efforts by "the thousands of volunteers looking for ways to help." He is planning to go to Mansehra "on my own to help." A resident of India appealed to his prime minister to cut red tape. Namita Ghandi in the UK says, "Natural disasters like this put our already struggling countries back decades." Pakistan and India have recently been trying harder to settle there differences. Their citizens, and a few in Afghanistan, are united now in the face of this most recent devastating event. And we in the United States must also unite with our brothers and sisters halfway around the world. It hasn't been that long since a million people here had a hauntingly similar experience.

This great writer offered a first person account of what happened in Pakistan:

The quake started at about 8:50 am. It was mild in the start and I was watching TV. I took about 30 seconds to confirm it and then I started shouting "earthquake!". Then suddenly its intensity increased and the whole house was shivering. We ran out of the house but it was so terrifying because the earth was moving. All the people were out of their houses and just remembering Allah. The duration was about 2 to 4 minutes in Lahore. As it started slowly, the same was the case in the end. It took too much time to finish after bigger shakes. I have experienced many earth quakes before but the one that came today was most terrifying and death was so close to us. For about 15 minutes, all of us just could not believe what we had just faced. Afterwards we started calling friends and relatives. I am thankful to Allah that my whole family and friends are safe. Sadaf Sadiq, Lahore, Pakistan