Tartous-SANA
A team of 25 volunteers from the Aga Khan Foundation has started monitoring and evaluation operations, and distribution of aid to homeowners affected by the earthquake in the city of Al-Qadmus, in coordination with the city council.
The official of the Readiness Department at the Aga Khan Foundation, Iyad Zeino, stated in a statement to SANA reporter that the team, equipped with special equipment to seal the roads and facilitate the movement of citizens between homes, helped remove stones and rubble, and material and in-kind assistance was distributed to those affected, according to the assessment carried out by the city council on the damage.
He pointed out that the initial assessment includes 48 totally and partially affected families, and the provision of assistance continues until the completion of assessments for all damaged homes and buildings, especially since the numbers are increasing and need to be updated on a daily basis through coordination with the al-Qadmous town council.
Zeno explained that the nature of the damaged houses is made of stone, which is double walls that do not have cement and are unable to withstand horizontal tremors, which poses a danger to the people. With the onset of the crisis, solutions cannot be put in place directly, but the solutions are emergency until a strategic vision is thought out.
In turn, the head of the Qadmous Town Council, Tariq Atfa, stated that, in cooperation with the Aga Khan Foundation, sums of money were distributed to each family according to the percentage of damage, and relief materials that included blankets and mattresses, which are the most affected, amounting to 50 families, and a sum of money was deposited for the benefit of the Qadmous Town Council by the Foundation In order to distribute it to another section of the affected families.
Atfa pointed out that the Aga Khan Foundation’s “Sirt” rescue team started this morning, in cooperation with the workers of the town council, to clear the alleys from rocks, rubble and stones, because the alleys are very narrow and it is difficult for the mechanisms to enter them, and the work is continuing until all the alleys are removed from the rubble.
Saeb Mustafa, whose house was completely damaged, expressed his thanks to the Aga Khan Foundation and praised the efforts made by the Al-Qadmous Town Council in counting the damage and assisting the affected families.
Zulfiqar Abu Ghabra
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