Peshawar: The death toll in Pakistan's powerful 7.5 magnitude quake on Thursday rose to 272 with over 2,123 injured, the government said. Twenty-two more bodies were found in the last two days, taking the total number of people died in the temblor to 272 from the previous figure of 250, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan said.
It said 2,123 people were also injured in the disaster, the strongest in 10 years. The deceased include 225 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 30 in northwestern tribal regions, 10 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 5 in Punjab, and 2 in PoK, the NDMA said. KP and FATA were most seriously affected as the powerful earthquake rocked Pakistan and the region on Monday, causing at least 250 deaths initially.
A senior NDMA official said that the agency has constituted seven teams to visit the affected districts for rapid need assessment and to supervise relief activities on grounds. Over 2,000 tents, blankets and floor mats have been dispatched to the affected districts besides 1,000 food packets for the worst-affected Chitral district.
The official said Chitral, Swat, Shangla, Dir Upper and Lower and Toarghar districts are the most affected districts where infrastructure and houses were damaged on a large scale. He said rescue and relief operations in the affected districts are continuing as civil administration, police, health and revenue authorities are participating in the relief operations besides army personnel.
Pakistan army rescue teams are conducting assessment of damage and loss of property caused by the quake. The military said most of the 45 landslides have been cleared on the strategic Karakoram highway. The initial quake struck at 2:09 PM on Monday and was followed by seven aftershocks, measuring as high as magnitude 4.8, according to the United States Geological Survey.
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