All the citizens of Bam also had to do their own rubble removal and search and rescue for the first twenty four hours because of the poorly planned response efforts. As a result of the belated response, victims faced serious asphyxiation, suffocation, and hypothermia, leading to a dramatically increased death toll.
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The 34 international rescue teams from 27 countries that arrived in Bam in the first few days of the operation were paralyzed by the chaos that reigned in the first few days of the disaster. The large number of collapsed buildings also hindered search- and-rescue teams. The international team could only save 22 people during a 48-hour effort. Due to poor data sharing and lack of trust among different organizations, many agencies were working independently of one another.
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12 million metric tons of collapsed building debris was piled up in the city.

Cleanup and aftermath