Death count rises amid fears of more aftershocks

NDMA says 267 dead, more than 1,800 wounded

ISLAMABAD: Monday’s earthquake in the northern parts of Pakistan has claimed the lives of 267 people, injured 1,856 others and damaged 11,389 houses, while officials fear that more aftershocks are in store.

A 7.5-magnitude quake had struck Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region and was felt throughout much of South Asia, including Pakistan. The US Geological Survey said it was centred near Jurm in north-east Afghanistan, located 250km from the capital Kabul, and had a depth
of 213.5km.

The highest number of causalities was reported in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where 220 people were killed, 1,656 others injured and 10,586 houses damaged, said National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Maj Gen Asghar Nawaz while addressing a joint news conference with Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed.



Nawaz said 30 people were killed and 59 injured in FATA, 10 killed and 31 injured in Gilgit-Baltistan, four killed and two injured in Punjab, and two killed and 12 injured in Kashmir. “The highest number of casualties in FATA was reported in Bajaur, where 26 were killed and
50 injured.”

Giving the rundown of the situation in K-P, the NDMA chairman said 49 people were killed and 228 injured in Shangla, 34 killed and 199 injured in Swat, 32 killed and 200 injured in Chitral, 24 killed and 248 injured in Lower Dir, and 17 killed and 148 injured in Upper Dir.

Regarding relief activities, he said 28,219 tents, 464 tonnes of food packs, 35,700 blankets, 6,300 plastic mats and 14 tonnes of water bottles were distributed among the earthquake victims.

Earlier, the NDMA had held a detailed briefing with Neil Buhne, United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator-designate for Pakistan, along with the heads of other UN organisations.

The purpose of the meeting was to apprise the NDMA’s development partners about the national response to earthquake and the ongoing relief efforts and measures being undertaken to ensure timely assistance to all the affected areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2015.