7.7 magnitude natural disaster strikes Afghanistan, Pakistan

“Today’s quake was the strongest one felt in the recent decades”, said Afghanistan’s chief executive Abdullah Abdullah.

Afghan officials said at least 63 people were confirmed dead and hundreds more injured, with casualties reported from around half a dozen of the country’s 34 provinces.

The number of victims was expected to rise significantly by the morning as aid workers struggle to reach its epicentre in a remote region with poor communications in the Hindu Kush mountain range of north-eastern Afghanistan.

Buildings have been evacuated and communications disrupted in many areas.

The local Tolo television channel reported that several houses had been completely destroyed in Kabul’s Dehmazang area, while a local school was partially damaged.

People in the capital could be seen fleeing their homes, while metro services ground to a halt, although there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.

Officials said 202 of the dead were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In Afghanistan, 12 school girls were killed in a crush while they were trying to escape from the building.

Abdullah Humayoon Dehqan, the provincial director of the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority in Badakhshan, said a child died and more than 60 houses were destroyed in the province.

The statement also said that early reports suggest that there has been loss of life and serious damage to infrastructure in both countries.

Karakoram Highway, the major road in northern areas, was also blocked from five different places due to land sliding, said the ISPR, adding that the Frontier Work Organization is working in the area to clear the roads. The natural disaster caused structures to collapse and created panic among people.

Dunya News TV reported that a part of the historic Bala Hissar fort in Peshawar was damaged.

A woman is rushed to a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, after the 7.5-magnitude quake Monday.

The death toll has crossed the 300-mark in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was completing a trip to the United States, said in a televised comment from London that he planned to fly to the quake-affected region Tuesday. “Twelve students, all minors, were killed and 35 others were injured”. A tragic incident occurred in the Afghan province of Takhar, where at least twelve schoolgirls were killed in rush to escape their collapsing building.

“We have enough resources to handle the situation”. Aftershocks continued for a few time, keeping many from returning to their offices and homes.

The fault that caused Monday’s natural disaster is peculiar in that it hasn’t produced a recorded quake at a depth shallower than 40 miles below the surface. He said food, blankets and tents were in short supply, though people had been warned to sleep outside – in near-freezing temperatures – in case of aftershocks.