| Fact Sheet Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC October 17, 2005 State Department Update on U.S. Response to Pakistan EarthquakeToday U.S. Navy vessels ferrying heavy machinery and other earthquake relief equipment and supplies arrived in the Pakistani port of Karachi. The machinery included more than 25 dump trucks, front-end loaders, backhoes, cargo trucks, a road-grader, a forklift, a generator, and other equipment and supplies. The machinery and supplies were immediately transferred to the Government of Pakistan for deployment to clear roads and provide other support to accelerate the flow of relief to the most affected areas. On hand to greet the ships, U.S. Consul General Mary Witt said, "The United States stands with the people of Pakistan in their hour of need." We are continuing to work with the Government of Pakistan and other partners to provide humanitarian assistance to relieve suffering and minimize further loss of life. In response to the urgent need for winterized tents and transitional shelters, today USAID scheduled a third airlift delivery of tents, which would result in a total of 1,570 tents being deployed to victims in the Northwest Frontier Province. Today the Defense Department also deployed the first component of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH).
Twelve helicopters from the U.S. are currently supporting relief operations with the Government of Pakistan, the United Nations and other relief organizations. The U.S. military is also supporting the operations of the four helicopters provided by the Government of Afghanistan and two from Germany. The Department of Defense will deploy close to 30 additional helicopters and other key assets in the coming days. U.S. military helicopters have now delivered 890,000 pounds of relief supplies to the disaster area and evacuated over 2800 people needing immediate medical attention.
Because of the difficulty and complications created by attempts to send goods directly to the earthquake victims, we strongly urge that private donors contribute money to organizations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. For additional details, please go to www.usaid.gov.
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