Australian Aid Agencies to Assist India’s Earthquake Victims

Australia's overseas aid agencies are preparing to respond with humanitarian aid after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck India’s Manipur State.

Oxfam said it was ready to respond with staff on the ground after the earthquake rocked northeast India on Monday.

The quake is expected to have a high humanitarian impact based on its severity and depth of 17km, and the large population within reach of the tremors. Landslides were also predicted because of the nature of the terrain close to the epicentre.

Early reports indicated that six people had been killed and a further 30 people had been injured in India as a result of the earthquake. Three people have also been reported dead in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Oxfam said that while the extent of the damage was not yet clear, the quake had struck a densely populated area of the region.

“The Indian Government has a strong capacity to respond to humanitarian emergencies, and if requested, Oxfam will support their response,” Oxfam said in a statement.

It has been estimated that as many as 98 million people in the region may have felt the earthquake.
Children’s aid agency UNICEF said it stood ready to act for children if requested, following an assessment of  the damage.

UNICEF’s regional communications chief Jean-Jacques Simons, based in Kathmandu, said the quake was felt in the Nepali capital.

“UNICEF’s offices in India and Bangladesh stand ready to join the humanitarian response for children, following established emergency protocols for each nation and region,” Simons said.

In 2005, a magnitude 7.6 quake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir killed more than 75,000 people.