As the dust settles over the state of Gujarat and the extent of the damage caused by last Friday's earthquake becomes clearer, the focus of Oxfam's relief effort is turning towards rural communities in Kutch, a poor tribal area of Gujarat. Initial rescue efforts have centred on Ahmedabad, where the city's 7m residents faced the danger posed by many high-rise buildings destroyed or damaged in the tremor, and Bhuj, the desert town of 150,000 people nearest to the epicentre. The death toll, now estimated at over 20,000, continues to rise.
Aftershocks continue to shake the area daily.
Apart from Bhuj, it is feared that hundreds of rural communities may have experienced the worst effects of the disaster. With most search and rescue operations concentrated in the main centres of population, Oxfam is concerned that relief may reach remote villages too late. In Kutch, an estimated 400,000 people have been killed, made homeless, or otherwise seriously affected by the earthquake. An estimated 250 villages in the vicinity have been completely destroyed. Access to the area is improving with damage to roads and bridges not as bad as expected, but remains under the supervision of the Indian army in this sensitive military zone on the border with Pakistan.