Pakistan quake relief operations continue, relief material distributed

Islamabad, Oct 30: Relief operation are in full swing in areas of Pakistan which were hit by the 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Monday, Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.

On the directives of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, relief goods have been airdropped in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's upper Kohistan valleys.

More than 7,500 tents, 12,000 blankets, 2,000 mats and over 11,000 food packages have been distributed among the affected people so far.

Pakistan's Punjab provincial government has also sent 50 relief trucks to different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Two Pakistan Air Force (PAF) C-130 aircraft carrying relief goods for the earthquake affected areas landed at Chitral on Friday. One of planes airlifted approximately 18,000 pounds of dry ration which was donated by the PAF.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has released 3 billion Pakistani rupees (about $28 million) for relief and rehabilitation activities in earthquake affected areas.

So far, the toll has risen to 272, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan said on Thursday.

According to the NDMA, at least 2,123 people were injured and 25,364 houses damaged in the earthquake which hit the country at 2.09 p.m. Its epicentre was determined in Hindu Kush mountains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The quake was felt in most parts of Pakistan but caused more damage in the northwestern mountainous parts of the country.

The Pakistan meteorological department said that after Monday's quake, a series of aftershocks ranging from 2.5 to 5.3 magnitude have been recorded in the country.

IANS