The next important challenge for the quake relief work is to get enough food as soon as possible to the survivors, particularly those in the mountainous areas, said Jules Korsten, official of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Thursday.

Speaking of the food problem in the Nias Island after the killer quake on March 28, he said "it is only logic, in any disaster relief, to solve the medical treatment issue first, then the food and shelter issues will crop up."

"There are people in the deep south who have not taken proper food for seven days running," he who has just returned from there described, "and some have turned to bananas and other fruits for surviving."

Now the local governments and international aid agencies should give more attention to the food issue, especially in the island's north, south and west parts which were cut off from the port city by destroyed roads for days.

The IOM, with strong financial support from countries including China, Australia, Germany, the US and others, has already delivered large quantities of foods, tents, blankets, generators, bottled water to the areas.

With a convey of some 50 trucks now available, Korsten is very confident IOM will deliver relief goods in a much quicker and more efficient manner, adding "we have some 600 tons of rice on their way here."

"By the end of this month," he estimated, "the overall food situation on the island could be stabilized."

Meanwhile, it is learned 30,000 family tents have been dispatched to the quake victims by the IOM since March 29, and 70,000-plus are expected to arrive in days.

A total of 632 people were killed and over 3,000 missing in Nias in the March 28 quake, according to the Nias government Thursday.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2005)