"Our rough estimates say more than 30,000 people have died in the earthquake in Kashmir," the region’s Minister for Works and Communication Tariq Farooq told AFP yesterday.
Pakistan’s military said earlier that at least 18,000 were confirmed dead in the 7.6 magnitude quake that hit Saturday.
"There are cities, there are towns which have been completely destroyed. Muzaffarabad is devastated," he added, referring to the capital of Pakistan’s sector of disputed Kashmir.
Around 3,000 people were killed by the quake in Muzaffarabad.
The worst hit place was Bagh, 40 kilometers southeast of Muzaffarabad, Farooq said. Between 6,000 and 7,000 people are estimated to have died in the town and adjoining areas, Farooq said.
"There are no survivors in villages like Jaglari, Kufalgarh, Harigal and Baniyali in Bagh district," Farooq said.
"People have been devoured by the earth."
Pakistan’s Minister For Kashmir Affairs, Faisal Hayat, said that half of Kashmir has been "severely affected by the earthquake".
"Out of a population of 2.4 million more than half is affected," apparently referring to those displaced, injured or killed.
Military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said over 41,000 people were injured and that the number of dead from Saturday’s quake would continue to grow.
"It is the biggest ever disaster in the history of Pakistan," Sultan told AFP, appealing for massive international aid.
General Sultan said military helicopters were leading rescue efforts in the worst affected zones, the rugged terrain of the North West Frontier Province and the towering Himalayan mountains of Kashmir.
"Village after village has been wiped out," said an official in Muzaffarabad, the main town in Pakistani Kashmir. "The Neelum River has been blocked because whole villages have fallen into the water."
The scale of the disaster has shocked the international community and brought pledges of aid and expressions of sympathy.
The earthquake struck just as schools were beginning morning classes and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children died when cheaply-built concrete buildings collapsed or were engulfed by landslides.
"There is no hope of survival for some 350 children who were trapped in the debris in three schools here," said Yameen Khan, police chief of Mansehra, one of the worst-hit districts.
"All the children from our village went to Balakot and only one of them has come back," said Abdul Rashid, a local official in the village of Shawal.
Near the shattered town of Balakot in NFWP, the scene was one of total devastation with many villages lying in ruins.
Landslides blocked the steep mountain roads and powerful aftershocks sowed terror among survivors, dislodging huge boulders from further up the hillsides. Rain, hail and freezing temperatures added to the misery.
Officials said surgeons were being dispatched to Kashmir along with nine helicopter loads of emergency aid. They said bad weather and the destruction of infrastructure was severely affecting relief efforts.
The quake also killed at least 320 people and injured 700 in the Indian zone of Kashmir, said the state’s chief secretary Vijay Bakaya, warning the toll would rise.
The epicenter was close to the dividing line between Indian and Pakistani controlled zones of Kashmir, and scores of soldiers on both sides died when their heavily-fortified positions collapsed around them.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir, but a peace process is under way and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh immediately reached out to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to offer help.
"While parts of India have also suffered from this unexpected natural disaster, we are prepared to extend any assistance with rescue and relief which you may deem appropriate," Singh said.
U.S. President George W. Bush said help was on the way to victims of what he called a "horrible tragedy" while in Brussels the European Union earmarked three million euros ($3.6 million) for the rescue effort.
"The people of the United States offer our deepest sympathies for the loss of life and destruction caused by the earthquake that struck outside of Islamabad," Bush said.
U.N. chief Kofi Annan said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and destruction" caused by the earthquake, as the world body rushed an emergency team to Pakistan to coordinate rescue efforts.
In Britain, which has a sizeable Pakistani community, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the government was prepared to respond to "all demands" for help.
Britain, along with France and Japan, dispatched specialist rescue teams with sniffer dogs and special cutting equipment.
The U.S. Geological Survey and the Pakistan Meteorological Department said the quake measured 7.6 on the Richter scale while the Japanese Meteorological Agency put it at 7.8.
Kashmir is well known to be a high-risk area for earthquakes as it lies on the collision area of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates which created the mighty Himalayas 50 million years ago.
45 aftershocks
rock Pakistan;
latest at Intensity 6
About 45 aftershocks have rocked Pakistan, the chief of the meteorological department said yesterday.
The latest aftershock came just before 2 p.m. and measured 6.0 on the Richter scale, Qamar Uzzman told AFP, while there have been at least four above 5.5 since the initial quake early Saturday.
"These are quite destructive. They must be very dangerous aftershocks for those near the epicenter," he added. "45 aftershocks have been recorded, all were above 4, which is moderate."
583 confirmed dead
in Indian Jamu
and Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) – The confirmed earthquake death toll climbed to 583 in Indian Kashmir yesterday, the state’s senior civil servant told AFP, warning the figure would probably rise further.
State government chief secretary Vijay Bakaya said: "583 people have died in Jammu and Kashmir, 300 in Uri sector alone," close to the de facto border with Pakistan.
"The toll is likely to go up," he added.
Some 700 people were injured and thousands of homes collapsed in the temblor.
DFA says there’s
no Filipino victim
in earthquake
There was no Filipiono affected by the earthquake which caused destruction in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
Citing an information relayed by Philippine embassy in Islamabad, Ambassador Gilbert Asuque, DFA spokesperson, said latest development showed that no Filipino was killed nor injured in the disaster. (Jeamma E. Sabate)
RP shares grief
and pain of victims,
Arroyo says
(AFP) – President Arroyo said yesterday that the Philippines shared the grief and pain of the victims of the massive earthquake that struck South Asia, leaving tens of thousands dead.
"We share the grief and pain being experienced by victims and families on account of the strong quake that delivered its blow across borders in South Asia," she said through Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio Bunye.
"We would like to extend our sympathies to nations and peoples affected by this sudden tragedy. The entire nation is one in prayer for their speedy recovery from this unfortunate event," Bunye said.
PNRC offers
to send
rescue team
In response to the devastating earthquake in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) told the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the Philippines’ readiness to send a disaster response team to assist in the search, rescue and recovery operations in the affected areas.
PNRC Chairman Richard J. Gordon, in a press statement, said, "Our hearts pour out to all the victims and the affected families in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. We send our deepest condolences. We are now closely coordinating with Mr. Bekele Geleta, Head of Regional Delegation-International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies based in Bangkok. The PNRC Disaster Response and Medical Team are now ready for deployment."
1,400 feared buried
alive in Guatemala
mudslide; 618 dead
By EDGAR CALDERON
GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) — A frantic search for about 1,400 people believed to be buried alive by a mudslide in Guatemala was continuing Sunday as the death toll from massive floods throughout Central America and Mexico rose to a staggering 618.
The towns of Panajab and Tzanchaj, 180 kms west of Guatemala City, were hit by the mudslide triggered by rain from Tropical Storm Stan before dawn Wednesday, when soil loosened by days of driving rain began rushing down the slopes of the San Lucas volcano.
"I don’t believe there are survivors. Already 36 hours have passed. According to estimates we have, 1,400 people were trapped there," Mario Cruz, a firefighters’ spokesman, told AFP.
If those fears are confirmed, Guatemala’s death toll could soar close to 2,000. The official count stood at 508 Saturday, up from 176 a day earlier after rescue workers discovered hundreds more bodies.
The storm also killed 71 people in El Salvador, 28 in Mexico and 11 in Nicaragua, authorities in those countries said. Tens of thousands were left homeless.
Stan slammed ashore as a hurricane in the Mexican state of Veracruz early Tuesday but began pounding northern Central America with rain on October 1, with Guatemala taking the hardest blow.
Many of the victims were indigenous people who lived along the banks of Lake Atitlan, in the west of the country. Tons of soil poured down the sides of the mountains surrounding the lake.
Most roads to the isolated area were impassable, and helicopter flights were hampered by driving rain falling for an eighth day onto waterlogged ground.
Guatemalan President Oscar Berger made an impassioned plea to the diplomatic corps in his country’s capital late Friday for international assistance, estimating agricultural losses at 135 million dollars.
But he did not hold out much hope to his compatriots.
"I believe we are in for more unpleasant surprises," Berger said. "Many people remain missing. There have been many mudslides, and many communities remain cut off."
The United States, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Canada and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration pledged help.
Norway’s Ambassador Rolf Berg requested a detailed needs assessment to best help the estimated 1.8 million Guatemalans affected by the storm.
Mexico meanwhile launched a vaccination drive amid an outbreak of dengue fever in the storm zone. A quarantine was slapped on the town of Huejutla, in central Hidalgo state, where 180 fell ill.
At least 28 Mexicans were killed by the storm and two million were affected, officials said.
"We will overcome this tragedy. Please be calm. I promise we will rebuild," President Vicente Fox told panicked residents of Huixtlan, just north of the Guatemalan border, where 5,000 people sought refuge in shelters.
Mexico has set aside 1.6 million dollars for rescue and reconstruction efforts from the recent spike in oil revenues and the country’s emergency fund.
The torrential rains "just did not stop for three days," said Emerita Albores, 37, whose home in Chiapas state was destroyed as a river burst its banks.
Normally, when there are natural disasters, the Mexican army trudges in to help. But Chiapas residents complained bitterly of being forgotten this time around.
Hundreds walked from their village homes in search of potable water and food. Locals helped one another rappel down ravines and riverbeds where washed-out bridges used to be, trying to get into the nearest town.
"The police don’t want to get their shoes wet; they have left us to fend for ourselves," said Amado Montes, a resident of a village cut off by the flooding and mudslides.
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, has been one of the deadliest and most active on record. Stan was the 10th Atlantic hurricane this year.
Hurricane Katrina, which slammed the US Gulf of Mexico coast August 29, ravaged New Orleans and coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, killing more than 1,200 people and becoming the deadliest storm to hit the United States since 1928.
