Iranian military aircraft were used to fly in food, clothing and medicine. Over 80 tons of aid materials were transported to the region on four C-130 cargo aircraft and six helicopters. The relief efforts were overseen by the Red Crescent, Iran's equivalent of the Red Cross. The Red Crescent sent 9,000 tents, over 18,000 blankets as well as canned food, rice and dates. Most of the aid was taken first to Mashad. Mashad is a city of two million people in the region. As the capital of the Khorasan province it was the logical place to manage the relief operation. From Mashad, the supplies had to be trucked through difficult terrain to each of the villages. The roads in the area are narrow and unpaved. The mountainous terrain makes them more susceptible to damage by quakes. Landslides and washouts were common throughout the area making what was already a 5-6 hour drive even longer.
Thousands of Iranian volunteers arrived in buses and convoys of trucks to sort through the crumbled cement, bricks and other building materials to look for casualties and potential survivors. Bulldozers and earth moving equipment are hard to come by in this area which slowed rescue efforts. With so few tools available, many people dug in the construction rubble using only their hands.
Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani, cut short a visit in neighboring Turkmenistan to visit the area two days after the quake struck. He promised governmental assistance to help rebuild the area. He offered interest-free loans, grants and said the Government would make rebuilding homes a priority. "We have no choice but to surrender to our fate," said Rafsanjani. "There are some things we can do. But there are other things we cannot do, like compensate for the lives of your relatives." Even so, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Jalil Besharati, an envoy of the president promised $167 to each person who lost a relative. It is unclear whether this was followed out.
[A new Iranian president has since been elected. In elections shortly after the earthquake, on May 23, 1997, Hashemi Rafsanjani was replaced by Mohammad Khatami, the current president of Iran]
After a detailed assessment of the damage, Rasoul Zargar, an Iranian Interior Ministry official said 30,500 housing units need to be built to accommodate those left homeless by the quake.
Though the quake occured in a remote area of the country, the government's response was well organized. One diplomat commented, "Do not forget it was the 1978 earthquake which showed up the ineffectiveness and corruption of the previous regime and led to widespread protests and the public humiliation of the Shah's wife, the Empress Farah Diba, when she toured the stricken areas. The government today will go to great lengths to see that people's immediate needs are met, and see that history does not repeat itself."
The Iranian government, sensitized by its history, acted quickly and spared few expenses to minimize the risk of political fall out from the quake. The politics of eastern Khorasan are further complicated by a large number of Afghan refugees. They grazed heavily on the land until it was no longer fertile. Since then, many have turned to smuggling narcotics.
Because of the precarious political situation, "Iran is extremely organised when it comes to quake relief" according to Michael von der Schulenburg, the displaced people's coordinator at the United Nations. This also explains Iran's rejection of some foreign rescue teams.
After earthquakes in the past, the government has usually relied on it's own resources to recover. Even this time, the Ayatollah Khamenei called on local religious leaders to organize the relief effort. [The Ayatollah is the religious leader of Iran while the president is the political leader. In practice however, Islam drives the politics of Iran and hence the Ayatollah has vast political influence as well] Rafsanjani's uncharacteristic appeal for international aid represents a fundamentally different approach than that which has been followed in the past. Mr. Rafsanjani's plea likely appealed to the more liberal intellectual and student communities of Iran. A mere six weeks before the first credible two-candidate presidential election since the 1979 revolution, Rafsanjani had a major opportunity to ally these groups behind a progressive earthquake response. Muhammad Khatami, the liberal candidate backed by Rafsanjani, who had to vacate his position after two four-year terms, was the underdog in a race against hardliner Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri. Many have attributed Khatami's success in the ensuing election to Rafsanjani's aggressive response to the May 10 earthquake.
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Last update: October 1, 1998