Faced with the aftermath of the Jan. 26 earthquake that killed an estimated 30,000 people and injured about 15,000 more, the Association for India's Development (AID) at Penn State has established an earthquake relief fund to help the survivors of the disaster.

"One reason that we've established this fund is because earthquakes are not very common in India," said Kavitha Nellore (graduate-integrative bioscience), president of Penn State's chapter of AID. "Floods are common in India, so people are prepared to deal with those. However, the country was not prepared to handle the (earthquake), so they need help from outside."

Gauri-Shankar Guha (graduate-mineral economics) agreed that the region could have been better prepared.

"There was no national planning, said Guha. "India has nothing like FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), so they are not prepared to deal with disasters like this. In some cases you have people trying to move concrete with their bare hands, and that just doesn't work."

Nellore stressed that many students were directly affected by the earthquake because of friends and family that live in the region. "We received a lot of mail from students asking what we were doing and how they could help, so we felt that we ought to set something up so that students could contribute," she said.

Donation tables were set up around campus last Thursday and Friday, and there will likely be one set up at the Allen Street Gates today, Nellore said.

Guha emphasized that relief was greatly needed in the region.

"Close to 100,000 people have died," he said. "In some towns there are no survivors. The government's official total is 30,000 because that is the number of bodies that have been found."

Guha went on to say that without a body, death certificates will not be issued in India. "If a man dies, but his body is not found, the family will not receive compensation insurance," he said. He continued by saying that in many instances, the primary breadwinner of a family might be lost, and the family would be unable to continue financially without help.

Guha also mentioned that carrying building insurance is not common practice in India, so many families have lost their homes forever.

"Shelter is the immediate need," he said.

Nellore said the AID will continue to accept donations until Saturday, but that if students want to give after that time they can do so through the national chapter of AID.

The end of the donation period will be marked by a concert performed Saturday night. The concert will feature performances by two local groups -- Raaga, which will perform classical selections, and a group of graduate students. Tickets will most likely go on sale tomorrow, Nellore said, and more information about the event will be available then. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to the fund.

AID, founded in 1991, has 25 chapters in the United States and three in India. It is an organization dedicated to targeting problems in India and then overcoming them.

Anyone wishing to make a donation can send a check to the Association for Indian Development, Hetzel Union Building, University Park, Pa. 16802. Credit card donations can be made at www.aidindia.org.