Recently an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.4 has hit Balochistan, wreaking serious damage in Ziarat. More than 200 people have died and about five hundred got injured. The government must press into service all available recourses to help the affected people to recover from the psychological trauma caused by this natural calamity. Three years ago an earthquake of 7.6 magnitude on Richter scale had caused devastation of Biblical proportions in northern areas of this country. Many areas of our country, including big cities like Karachi and Peshawar, remain earthquake prone because of their location on geographical faultlines. Therefore the government must remain alert to possibility of mega disasters in the near future. -RIZWAN ASGHAR, Lahore, via e-mail, October 30.