UNITED NATIONS TEAM RESPONDS TO IRAN EARTHQUAKE

UNITED NATIONS TEAM RESPONDS TO IRAN EARTHQUAKE

NEW YORK, 26 December (OCHA) -- Today, on 26 December 2003, at 5:27 a.m. local time, an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 struck the city of Bam, Kerman Province, in south-eastern Iran.  Initial reports have indicated heavy casualties, but no exact figures are yet available.  It is estimated that at least 60 per cent of the houses in the city have collapsed.  The city hospital in Bam has also collapsed, and telephone lines and the water and power supply are cut off.  Search-and-rescue activities are being conducted by the provincial government, the Iranian military and the Iranian Red Crescent Society.  The United Nations Disaster Management Team in Tehran is sending two teams to the affected area.

The Government of Iran has indicated that it would welcome international assistance.  There is a special need for medical items and mobile hospitals, tents, blankets, generators, water purification equipment and search-and-rescue teams, including sniffer dogs and search equipment.  As part of the United Nations efforts, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has dispatched a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team to assist in the coordination of relief efforts.  The OCHA has also made available an initial emergency grant of $90,000.  The Office will continue to monitor the developments on the ground and will keep the international aid community informed of the response requirements.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA NY, tel.:  917 367 5126, mobile:  917 892 1679; or Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel.:  41 22 917 2653, mobile:  41(0) 79 472 4570.

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