The official death toll from a recent devastating earthquake in this southeast Iranian city has been revised up to 30,000, and the situation here remains stable. 

According to District Governor Ali Shafei, official estimate put the final toll at between 30,000 and 32,000.

Nearly 80 major aftershocks have been recorded in Bam since the city was struck on Dec. 26 by the tremor, which was measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.

No casualties were reported from the aftershocks, but two aftershocks Saturday night caused minor damage to the few structures that remain standing. About 90 percent of the city's buildings were either destroyed or damaged.

The international search and rescue efforts in Bam have been winding down and the last international search and rescue teams have left the region. Local rescuers, led by the Red Crescent Society of Iran, are still working in the area, recovering one survivor from under the rubbles Saturday night.

Bulldozers and other heavy machinery have been moved in to clear the sites in search for the remaining corpses buried under rubbles and prepared for the reconstruction process.

Despite some sporadic reports of looting, the situation in the city appears stable. Since Dec. 29, Iranian security forces have allowed only vehicles carrying humanitarian assistance and relief workers to enter Bam.

All international relief workers and journalists have to register with local authorities for permission to enter and work in the affected area.

Throughout the city, there are signs that things are turning back to normal, with food, water and other supplies being distributed to survivors of the earthquake. Police patrol the streets round the clock as people started returning to their destroyed homes to search for belongings.

Telephone services have been restored to some street phone booths, with callers lining up for a chance. At least one gas station in Bam has reopened, providing gasoline free of charge.

However, as most of the buildings were destroyed in the earthquake, there is virtually no shop or retailer operating in the city.

Besides the Red Crescent Society of Iran, dozens of international humanitarian aid agencies have sent teams to the ancient Silk Road city to help the survivors. The agencies include the International Federation of the Red Cross, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The 10-member UNICEF team distribute medicine to local hospitals, stationery to local children, extend protection to children orphaned in the quake, and help survivors to get clean water.

The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) has established a field hospital, which is expected to operate in Bam for the next 12 months. 

The number of field hospitals operated by international organizations or foreign countries reached 12 at one time.

In particular, USAID, a US aid agency, has dispatched a team of some 90 humanitarian aid workers to Bam to assist Iran, once branded part of the "Axis of Evil" by US President George W. Bush.

Shortly after the devastating earthquake, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said Tehran welcomes international aid from any country except Israel.

"We are here in support of local authorities to provide assistance to the Iranian people, which is our focus. It is not political," Steve Catlin, program officer for humanitarian assistance of USAID, told Xinhua in a recent interview. 

Some 85 percent of the houses and buildings in Bam were destroyed in the quake. With government and international help, all survivors from the earthquake have been allocated a tent and settled in the vicinity of their homes. Some have moved to live with their relatives outside the city.

Authorities have estimated that the number of homeless in Bam stands at between 40,000 and 60,000. A more specific figure is difficult to come by, as some survivors are staying with relatives in other parts of the country.

Bam, with a population of 80,000 to 100,000 before the quake, was a popular tourist spot, 1,300 kilometers southeast of Tehran. A 2,500-year-old citadel crumbled in the quake.

The government has vowed to rebuild the ancient city.

Dr. Mohammad Beheshti, director of the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Iranian Ministry of Cultural and Islamic Guidance, told Xinhua that authorities will spend the next three months making documentary assessment of the damage to the citadel, to understand what has actually happened to it in the earthquake.

"On the basis of the documentary assessment, we will determine what can be done in the reconstruction of the citadel," said Beheshti, who accompanied Minister of Cultural and Islamic Guidance, Ahmad Masjed Jamei, on an inspection tour in Bam.

"After the three-month period, we will make a plan on how to reconstruct the citadel," he said.    Inspecting Bam on Saturday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Meahdi Karoubi called for increased government funding for the city's reconstruction.

Epidemics have been feared in quake-stricken areas, but Iranian Minister of Health Masood Pezeshkyan told Xinhua Saturday that there has been no outbreak of any disease in the city since the earthquake.

The minister expressed satisfaction with the work of Iranian public health workers in bringing the health situation under control after the earthquake.

Pezeshkyan said there is no shortage of medicine in Iran for treatment of the thousands injured in the earthquake.

On Friday, city authorities were requested by the United Nations to watch for diarrhea.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has initiated active surveillance for 17 most probable diseases in and around the city.

(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2004)