U.S. pledges $5M in quake aid

BHUJ, India -- The international aid effort for earthquake-stricken Gujarat has accelerated, with the United States pledging $5 million to the cause.

Canada has also increased the amount it has pledged by $C2 million ($1.33 million), taking its total contribution to $C3 million.

MESSAGE BOARD India quake    VIDEO CNN's Satinder Bindra reports on the medical treatment of quake survivors (January 28) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Satinder Bindra reports on rescue efforts to find quake survivors (January 27) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     RESOURCES When plates collide: a look at the causes of India's earthquake    MAGNITUDE GUIDE Below is an interactive guide to earthquake magnitude and severity: Magnitude: Less than 3.5 3.5 - 5.4 Under 6.0 6.1 - 6.9 7.0 - 7.9 8 or greater    GALLERY Images of devastation in India    AUDIO Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee considers government action and responses to the disaster 180K/32 sec. AIFF or WAV sound CNN's Satinder Bindra: Death rate increasing by the hour 180K/32 sec. AIFF or WAV sound India's Home Minister L K Advani on the known extent of damage 235K/42 sec. AIFF or WAV sound   ALSO Quake survivors raise rescue hopes Pakistan joins global relief effort Mumbai offers aid for quake victims

The new funds add to the millions already pledged by countries since the earthquake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, struck Friday.

Among the first nations to step up with offers of support was India's neighbor and arch-rival Pakistan. However it reemains to be seen whether India will accept the aid, from Pakistan, which it has a disputed border

While Pakistan has offered relief goods, India's foreign ministry has declined to comment specifically on whether India will accept aid from a nation it has often been at odds with.

India accepted with "gratitude and appreciation" all offers of aid for earthquake relief, the spokesman said.

"I don't see why you should single out any particular country," the spokesman said when asked if Pakistan's offer would be accepted.

Many nations offer assistance

"Our priority is to bring succor and relief to the victims. A large number of countries have offered aid. Our broad policy is to accept such offers of humanitarian assistance."

According to wire services and diplomatic sources in New Delhi, among the nations to have offered aid:

  • Switzerland, Turkey and Britain have sent rescue teams to Gujarat, including sniffer dogs to help find survivors still buried in the rubble.

  • Canada has offered $C3 million ($1.995) or the equivalent in relief supplies.

  • The British Red Cross has sent a 69-member rescue team and 47,000 blankets to the disaster area, while Britain has pledged £3 million ($4.4 million), of which £250,000 has been channeled through the International Red Cross.

  • The Netherlands has pledged the equivalent of $420,000 in aid and support.

  • Norway has offered $1.1 million worth of relief assistance.

  • United States president George W. Bush has offered his condolences, while the U.S. government has pledged $5 million.

  • Australia has pledged $A1 million ($550,000) to relief programs being run by the United Nations and other international organizations, and will send a disaster relief expert to Gujarat.

  • Japan, one of the world's most tremor-prone nations, will donate almost $1 million in cash and supplies.

  • China has pledged $50,000 and plans to send a team of seismological experts, and Taiwan has called in a team of 64 rescuers to help look for buried survivors.

It remains unclear how and where the assistance will be provided so early into the rescue and relief phase.

Aid effort will take time

"It will take some time to determine exactly what India needs, be it medicine, shelter, food or people," says Robert Andrigo, Canada's deputy high commissioner in New Delhi.

"There is also the matter of machinery, since the nature of the disaster itself requires large amounts of rubble to be moved in order to locate and rescue people buried under piles of rubble."

A spokesman at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi said: "We will meet tomorrow (Monday). It's a bit early to say where the support will go, but I would imagine there will be a need for temporary housing."

Meanwhile, the quake appears to have temporarily thawed the icy relations between Pakistan and India.

Pakistan talks relief with New Delhi

Pakistan, where the quake killed at least 15 people, said Saturday it would coordinate with New Delhi on the matter of sending relief goods to India and.

Tensions between the two countries are running high over increased violence in Kashmir, where India accuses Pakistan of arming and encouraging Muslim separatists.

Peace talks between the neighbors have been on hold since a bloody face-off in northern Kashmir in 1999.

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