Update: September 21 Earthquake29 September, 2009 - At least 2,800 families in eastern Bhutan were still spending the nights outside in shelters and in sheds as of yesterday evening, with their homes having either crumbled or become unsafe to live in, according to dzongkhag officials.This figure does not include the hundreds of people, whose homes were not visibly affected by the September 21 earthquake but have also been sleeping outside. “There is no official to advise us whether we can go back into our homes,” said Leki, a shopkeeper in Drametse town.
“There are minor cracks on my house and my neighbour’s house looks shaky even though there are no visible damages. We’re still sleeping outside because we aren’t sure if it’s safe to go back in.”
“Relief items like tents, tarpaulins and food have reached the villages and, although it’s harvest season, people are still worried and unable to return to work in their fields,” said Narang gup in Mongar, Sonam Jamtsho.
“It’ll take at least a week to restore a sense of normalcy in the affected gewog.”
As immediate relief, army personnel have been building temporary shelters, made of tarpaulin and bamboo mats, in most of the affected areas, while some people are spending the nights in huts used for harvest storage and outposts to guard fields against wild animals. Most of the village shops, two schools in Mongar, government offices and BHUs remain closed.
A government official, who accompanied the prime minister and visited yesterday Thangrong gewog in Mongar, one of the worst hit areas, said: “People in the villages are experiencing symptoms of fear, lack of sleep and anxiety. There’s widespread panic even with the sound of a vehicle passing by, strong wind blowing or a screeching sound on a loudspeaker.”
Latest reports collected by dzongkhag officials that a total of at least 2,800 homes in Mongar, Trashigang, Trashiyangtse, Lhuentse, Pemagatsel and Samdrupjongkhar have been damaged by the quake. Of these, about 700 homes were reported as non-repairable, said officials in the field assessing the damage done. At least 1,253 homes have been affected by the quake in Mongar dzongkhag alone, said dzongkhag officials, who added that about 400 houses were non-repairable.
“The situation is worse than it appeared at first. The extent of the damage by the quake is rising everyday,” said a dzongkhag official. He also said that some of their officials were still deep in the villages to categorise the damages done, especially to houses. “To find a cost estimate, we’re working on the specifics of damages. For homes, we’re recording whether they’ve collapsed, suffered cracks or other damages.”
In Bepam under Udzorong gewog, Trashigang, black tarpaulin shelters set up by the relief team near several houses affected by the quake gleamed in the heavy afternoon downpour yesterday. “The beams of my house have moved and the walls have cracked,” said Kana, 48, who with her three children were pushing up the tarpaulin shelter so to prevent rainwater from collecting. Her husband and married daughter had gone off to collect fodder. The family goes indoors to cook and eat food but spend the night under the tarpaulin shelter. “I don’t know how long we can stay like this,” said Kana. “What needs to be done should happen quickly so that we can get back on with our lives.”
In Mongar’s Narang village, near the quake’s epicentre, the nangtens (sacred images) of chortens and lhakhangs that were damaged by the quake have been secured in a separate concrete structure built by the relief team. Officials of the Gyalpoi Zimpon’s office said that similar houses would be built in all affected areas to ensure that the nangtens are safe.
Army personnel are also rebuilding temporary classrooms for Narang and Thangrong community schools, which had collapsed. Thangrong school will reopen today, almost a week after being closed, said Zimpon Wongma Karma Thinley. “Students will study in temporary classrooms made of large sized tents.”
Emergency goods and supplies, such as rice, salt, cooking oil, clothes, tea-leaves, biscuits, flour, noodle snacks, sugar and blankets are being provided to the victims of the quake, said officials.
Twelve people have been confirmed dead so far and six students in Narang gewog, Mongar, who were injured by the quake have recovered, while about 12 victims are still recovering in various hospitals and BHUs across the eastern region. There were no reports of missing people as of yesterday.
Windstorm follows quake
Even as villagers in Yangneer, Trashigang, recover from the earthquake, a windstorm that hit the village yesterday around 5:30 pm injured two women and blew off roofs of 20 houses.
One of the victims, a 38-year old woman was referred to the Trashigang hospital after being hit by a falling roof. The Yangneer gup said that those houses, which were damaged by the September 21 earthquake, were further damaged by the storm. “As immediate relief, people were given additional tarpaulin sheets to cover their harvest stored in the attics of the house,” he said.
The windstorm was also felt in Udzorong gewog where roofs of two houses were blown away. Udzorong gup said that no casualties were reported as of last night.
By Phuntsho Choden, additional Reporting by Tshering Palden
