In view of the fast approaching winter, there is urgent need for providing shelter, warm clothing and other necessities to the quake-affected people of Jammu and Kashmir, two United States government disaster relief experts said on Tuesday.
The United States Agency for International Development disaster relief specialists, who returned from Jammu and Kashmir after a four-day assessment of emergency needs, noted that inclement weather and difficult-to-reach locations had complicated the process of reaching life-saving relief.
Blankets and winterised jackets were distributed by the American experts to the affected people during their stay in the state. This was part of a first relief package sponsored by the US government and distributed by its partner, Save the Children.
The two deployed in the affected area were the first on the ground among bilateral donors, the US Embassy said, adding that through the USAID office, they were the first specialists to be deployed in J&K.
The US government, through the USAID Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance, had disbursed $100,000 in immediate assistance following the earthquake that hit on October 8.
Half of the relief funds went to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. The remaining $50,000 have been invested in direct relief efforts by Save the Children.
