Earthquake death toll up to 30,000

When senior Rakshay Dhariwal first heard an earthquake hit Saturday in South Asia, he didn't know if his family in New Delhi was safe.\n"I was very afraid," Dhariwal said. "I ran and checked the Internet."\nOnce he saw New Delhi was not hard-hit by the quake, he stopped worrying and his family called to let him know they were safe. Dhariwal's family owns a plantation in northern India that was affected by the tremors. Some of the plantation workers were hospitalized and houses were damaged.\n"Everything above two stories collapsed," Dhariwal said.\nThe magnitude-7.6 earthquake hit South Asia Saturday, leaving a wake of damage spanning at least 250 miles from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, to the northern Indian territory. It was the largest earthquake ever to rock the region. The death toll is now estimated to be between 20,000 and 30,000, but officials expect it to rise.\nDr. Christopher Viers, associate dean and director of International Services, said IU has 20 students enrolled from the region affected by the earthquake. He was not aware of any IU students who were home in the region at the time of the natural disaster.\n"We've been in contact with the students affected and we're deeply concerned for the well-being of their families," Viers said.\nThe Office of International Services is currently working with the Pakistani Student Association to plan activities to help students affected, but no details are currently available.\nThe India Studies Program is sponsoring a panel to discuss the earthquake 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18 in Jordan Hall 124. The event is free and open to the public.\nIndia Studies Program Director Sumit Ganguly wanted to hold the panel to "shed light on the tragedy." Ganguly, a professor of political science and Indian cultures and civilizations, will be serving on the panel. \nHe said the region most affected by the quake, the Indian territory of Kashmir, is extremely rugged and isolated with poor roads, making recovery efforts difficult. The topology of the region makes it specifically earthquake prone, and the quality of life is harsh with little industry to sustain it. The United Nations said 2.5 million people are in need of shelter near the Pakistan-India border and risk exposure with the winter season being six weeks away.\nWhen Lahore, Pakistan, native Fahad Quyyum, a senior, woke up the day after the earthquake, he worried about his parents and grandparents who still live in Pakistan. Quyyum's family was also safe. He accredited it to the safety of their brick house located in the city in contrast to the many mud houses in the country that were prone to cracking or collapsing from the quake.\n"You can expect a house of mud to definitely collapse," Quyyum said.\nGanguly urges the Bloomington community to contribute to relief efforts. He noted even a minor financial contribution will help the poverty-stricken region.\n"The dollar still goes a long way in that region of the world," Ganguly said.\nGanguly said he hopes the response to the South Asia earthquake will equal the vigor of the response to Hurricane Katrina. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said the United States has pledged up to $50 million in aid. At the panel, a donation box will be available to aid quake victims with proceeds going to the Red Cross.\nGanguly said the people hardest hit by the quake have very little, robbed of their livelihood, homes and much hope for the future.\n"The people who suffered are not from Mars," Ganguly said. "They are fellow human beings."\nDr. Arvind Verma, associate director of the India Studies Program and a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, will also serve on the panel. He served in the police department in India and is familiar with how the local government agencies work. He wants the panel to discuss ways the community can help the current tragedy and methods for preventing similar tragedies in the future.\n"A university is a place concerned with what happens around the world," Verma said. "It's natural that we should quickly respond."\n-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.