Dennism
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"AFP) - Jordan's Queen Rania arrived in quake-struck Bam, delivering another consignment of relief aid and urging a long-term international commitment to this devastated city in southeast Iran.
"We try to help our brothers in Iran as much as we can," the queen told reporters as she toured a Jordanian army field hospital in Bam, struck by a massive quake on December 26 that killed up to 35,000 people.
"This human crisis does not recognise politics or boundaries. There has been great devastation, and when I talk to people I hear of how they have lost a great number of their relatives."
Dressed in a long, light beige coat and wearing a pale-blue shawl over her head, in keeping with the rules of the Islamic republic, the queen spent time speaking to quake survivors who have been treated by the Jordanian team here.
Mohammad Trawaneh, a colonel and doctor in Jordan's armed forces, said his team has so far treated 4,000 survivors. But the queen said donors needed to keep up the momentum of what has been a massive international relief effort.
"There should be a long-term presence to rebuild the lives and homes of these people," she said. "Inshallah (God willing), there should be a long-term presence of NGOs".
The queen was also lined up to see the remains of the ancient citadel of Bam -- considered one of the architectural jewels of world heritage -- that was wrecked in the quake, which measured a massive 6.7 on the Richter scale.
A C-130 Jordanian armed forces plane accompanied the queen's flight to Bam, transporting 20 tonnes of relief aid including medical supplies, tents, blankets and heaters for the tens of thousands of people left homeless.
The consignment was the fifth to be sent from Jordan.
Scheduled to head home Wednesday was a rescue team from the Jordanian civil defence service. Team leader Major Monzer Mohammad said his crew had only managed to recover eight dead bodies.
According to latest figures from the United Nations, around 30,000 people were killed and a further 30,000 injured in the quake.
With some 85 percent of buildings destroyed, 45,000 people have been left homeless, a figure expected to rise to 75,000 when affected people return from stays with family outside Bam or from medical treatment in other towns.
On Thursday, the United Nations is scheduled to launch a multi-million-dollar flash appeal to help fund reconstruction and relief efforts in Bam.
The UN's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said donor countries had already pledged 74.8 million dollars (59 million euros) in cash and kind, but has not yet specified how much would be sought in the new appeal.
Iran remained on high alert for more quakes Wednesday, with authorities in the southwestern province of Khuzestan deciding to shut schools until further notice after a series of 14 tremors shook the area in the space of just 24 hours.
An education official in the oil and gas centre of Masjed Soleiman, Behrouz Farhadian, told the state news agency IRNA that the measure was taken "to ease the worries of local families".
According to the Geophysics Institute at Tehran University, a series of 14 quakes measuring between 2.7 and 4.9 on the Richter scale hit the area of Masjed Soleiman and the nearby town of Izeh -- 450 kilometres (280 miles) southwest of Tehran in Khuzestan province -- on Tuesday.
The institute said that another quake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale -- enough to make homes wobble -- jolted the area early Wednesday at 7:48 am (0418 GMT).
A number of villages reportedly suffered damage on Tuesday, but there have been no immediate reports of casualties."
"We try to help our brothers in Iran as much as we can," the queen told reporters as she toured a Jordanian army field hospital in Bam, struck by a massive quake on December 26 that killed up to 35,000 people.
"This human crisis does not recognise politics or boundaries. There has been great devastation, and when I talk to people I hear of how they have lost a great number of their relatives."
Dressed in a long, light beige coat and wearing a pale-blue shawl over her head, in keeping with the rules of the Islamic republic, the queen spent time speaking to quake survivors who have been treated by the Jordanian team here.
Mohammad Trawaneh, a colonel and doctor in Jordan's armed forces, said his team has so far treated 4,000 survivors. But the queen said donors needed to keep up the momentum of what has been a massive international relief effort.
"There should be a long-term presence to rebuild the lives and homes of these people," she said. "Inshallah (God willing), there should be a long-term presence of NGOs".
The queen was also lined up to see the remains of the ancient citadel of Bam -- considered one of the architectural jewels of world heritage -- that was wrecked in the quake, which measured a massive 6.7 on the Richter scale.
A C-130 Jordanian armed forces plane accompanied the queen's flight to Bam, transporting 20 tonnes of relief aid including medical supplies, tents, blankets and heaters for the tens of thousands of people left homeless.
The consignment was the fifth to be sent from Jordan.
Scheduled to head home Wednesday was a rescue team from the Jordanian civil defence service. Team leader Major Monzer Mohammad said his crew had only managed to recover eight dead bodies.
According to latest figures from the United Nations, around 30,000 people were killed and a further 30,000 injured in the quake.
With some 85 percent of buildings destroyed, 45,000 people have been left homeless, a figure expected to rise to 75,000 when affected people return from stays with family outside Bam or from medical treatment in other towns.
On Thursday, the United Nations is scheduled to launch a multi-million-dollar flash appeal to help fund reconstruction and relief efforts in Bam.
The UN's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said donor countries had already pledged 74.8 million dollars (59 million euros) in cash and kind, but has not yet specified how much would be sought in the new appeal.
Iran remained on high alert for more quakes Wednesday, with authorities in the southwestern province of Khuzestan deciding to shut schools until further notice after a series of 14 tremors shook the area in the space of just 24 hours.
An education official in the oil and gas centre of Masjed Soleiman, Behrouz Farhadian, told the state news agency IRNA that the measure was taken "to ease the worries of local families".
According to the Geophysics Institute at Tehran University, a series of 14 quakes measuring between 2.7 and 4.9 on the Richter scale hit the area of Masjed Soleiman and the nearby town of Izeh -- 450 kilometres (280 miles) southwest of Tehran in Khuzestan province -- on Tuesday.
The institute said that another quake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale -- enough to make homes wobble -- jolted the area early Wednesday at 7:48 am (0418 GMT).
A number of villages reportedly suffered damage on Tuesday, but there have been no immediate reports of casualties."
The room service must be super fresh and the pillows extra fluffy!
