Death Toll In Afganistan, Pakistan Earthquake Rises To 311

Meanwhile, in Nangarhar province on the eastern border with Pakistan, officials said at least 28 people were killed and 141 were wounded.

Over 2,000 people have sustained injures in Monday’s quake in Pakistan that also damaged more than 4,000 homes.

The death toll is expected to rise in both countries, since the places most affected are remote areas where communication has been cut off. Tremors were also felt in surrounding countries, including India and Tajikistan.

The government was working to provide assistance for those affected, he said.

Earthquakes often hit Badakhshan, but casualty figures are usually low because it is so sparsely populated, with fewer than 1 million people spread across its vast mountains and valleys.

The United Nations estimates that the Taliban’s reach is the widest since 2001, with more than half of the districts across Afghanistan at risk.

October 27, 2015- The worldwide community has offered help to deal with Monday’s natural disaster, as Pakistan assesses the damage to property and loss of life.

He also added that more than 300 houses were completed destroyed and hundreds others partially damaged.

The epicenter of the quake was in remote Badakhshan province in northeastern Afghanistan.

In Pakistan, where landslides and heavy rain and snow over the weekend had already left thousands of tourists stranded in mountainous areas of the north, the country’s well-equipped military was heavily involved in relief efforts.

The quake’s focus was deep, reducing its impact. Those who could were reluctant to seek shelter for fear of aftershocks.

Monday’s quake shook buildings in the capital, Islamabad, and elsewhere in Pakistan and Afghanistan early Monday afternoon for up to 45 seconds, creating cracks in walls and shutting down power.

Twelve of the victims were Afghan schoolgirls, killed in a stampede as they attempted to evacuate a shaking building.

As part of the disaster relief efforts for those affected by the quake hundreds of people may be forced to sleep in tents out doors in freezing temperatures in anticipation of aftershocks.

Most of the deaths were in Pakistan but there have been fatalities in Afghanistan and India.