While authorities use traditional tools in rescue operationsRockslide death toll nears 100 [Archives:2006/908/Front Page]
January 2 2006
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SANA'A, Jan. 1 ) Rescue and search teams have been working on removing giant rocks and pulling out corpses covered by rubble in the slide-affected village of Al-Dhafir since Thursday morning.
The death toll claimed by the avalanche that hit some of Al-Dhafir village houses, reached 57, twenty-nine of whom are females and 28 males. Eight people out of around 98 victims beneath rubble were pulled out alive on the first day of search, according to official scores.
Thursday, 29th of December 2005 rockslides caused an avalanche that destroyed more than 23 houses of Al-Dhafir village in Bani Matar District, 42 km west of Sana'a. Sixteen of the destroyed houses were inhabited at the time of the disaster.
According to the rescue teams, who could not remove the huge rocks that fell onto houses, the rubble-removing operations done by heavy machinery are bound to last for more ten days. Rescue teams use simple and traditional tools for the removal of huge rocks that fell onto houses; some of these rocks weigh over 1000 tons.
Search and rescue operations were being hampered by a lack of tools to break the huge rocks lying on crushed houses, in addition to the difficult terrain of the area, said police officials at the scene.
More than 50 military and civil ambulances have been transporting the injured to hospitals in the governorate of Sana'a. Rescue services are intensifying their efforts to save those who are still alive.
On his visit to the village to review the current situation and organize rescue and relief efforts, Yemeni Vice President Abdurabbo Mansour Hadi also headed a meeting including Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Sana'a Governor. The meeting formed a committee to supervise these tasks, including rock breaking and removal. Senior officials received directives to provide rescue assistance, and support was provided to those affected, particularly with shelter for homeless families.
In a statement to the media, Abdulwahid Al-Bukhaiti Governor of Sana'a said it is impossible to find more people alive under rubble. “Hope for finding alive people with the passage of time is weak due to the heavy rocks that hit the village.”
For his part, Sana'a Police Chief said that among the recovered corpses, 16 belong to the same family formed of 21 members who were dwelling in house composed of 8 floors. One of the family members survived the catastrophe since he was on watch of his Qat farm, which is not far away from the village.
The Geological Survey Authority (GSA) revealed in a report the rockslide of the rocky mountain looking over Al-Dhafir village, was the result of rock overhung on the top of the mountain, which were more prominent than other sedimentary rocks affected by erosion on the bottom. The GSA team's report indicated the geological nature of the area made Al-Dhafir one of the villages that are more exposed to the collapse of rocks, pointing out the area was subjected to the fall of rocks of different sizes in recent times.
The report attributed the catastrophe to a variety of factors among them the main components of sedimentary rocks in the area, which are not homogenous, water ditches causing rock fissure and the topography of the area, in addition to sandy rocks, which are easily subjected to erosion.
The rocky hill was also affected by other factors such as wind, water, temperature and human factors, which led to erosion in the lower part of the mountain, leaving the upper part hanging over. The extraction of underground water in the surrounding areas is also responsible for the catastrophe. The report clarified the geological layers caused ongoing motion and slide of rocky masses in the mountain looking over the village. The rubble covered an area of over 120 square kilometer, destroying 15 houses.
In a different report issued by a team of geological experts, the experts stressed on the necessity of conducting studies on other similar areas, particularly the densely populated ones. Geo-environmental studies should be conducted before the construction of roads, bridges, dams and basins in sloppy terrains and then periodical follow-ups have to be implemented to examine terrain stability of areas exposed to rock collapse.
Concluding its statement, the GSA said the lack of technical experience in dealing with such conditions and suitable machineries helped raised the death toll. Operations related to rock breaking and removal has not been implemented in a good manner to save lives of people trapped beneath rubble.
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