(Oct.30, 2008):-Caritas teams are responding to a series of earthquakes that hit south-western
Pakistan on Wed. The death toll is at 170 and climbing. Caritas teams are on the ground
in the Baluchistan region. The earthquake measured 6.2 on the Richter scale. Emergency
Response Team Coordinator Dolores Halpin-Bachmann said: "The priorities are getting
accurate assessments of destruction and responding to the needs of the people. We
will be coordinating with Caritas staff over the next hours to put together a response.
She said, “We have an excellent record in Pakistan and Caritas staff there, have
substantial training in responding to natural disasters, especially earthquakes. We've
worked on disaster preparedness, which we hope will improve our ability to save lives”,
she added. Pakistan has a population of nearly 173 million, about 95% of which is
Muslim.