New quake hits remote north

A moderate earthquake, the second in less than a month, rocked northern Pakistan on Thursday morning. While initial estimates are unclear, at least 20 people have been confirmed dead and scores injured.

"Given the reports we are receiving, the damage appears serious and we expect the death toll to mount," Jehangir Khan, the government joint-secretary responsible for the northern areas, told IRIN in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Up to 8,000 people living in the Astore Valley, an area between the Indus river and the town of Astore, were affected by the early morning quake. The four communites that suffered were the towns of Dashkin and Harcho, with populations of 3,500 and 2,500 respectively, as well as the villages of Turbling and Mushkin with 50 households each. "The area is not densely populated, but Dashkin and Harcho are quite large," Khan explained.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake, registering 5.8 on the Richter scale, took place at 02:32 local time on Thursday, followed by a series of aftershocks.

Dr Qamar Chaudhary, director-general of the meteorology department in Islamabad told IRIN that the quake's epicentre was near the towns of Bunji and Astore, some 45 km southeast of the northern city of Gilgit.

"It was a shallow earthquake with a depth of 30 km, Chaudhary said, adding such quakes were more destructive on the surface.

According to the expert, the quake affected a 50 km square area, but was felt as far away as the capital. The quake was immediately followed by two sharp aftershocks, measuring 5.5 and 4.5 respectively, with reoccurring smaller tremors, he added.

As for current seismic activity in the area, Chaudhary said it was difficult to predict, but quakes were normally followed by smaller aftershocks as was the case in this instance. From the first quake until 10 am this morning, some 28 aftershocks were felt, all of them less than four on the Richter scale, Khan added.

Meanwhile on the relief front, the Pakistani civil and military authorities are working in the area, but access remains problematic. "At the moment there is no access to these areas," Khan said. "Telephone lines are down and communication is through wireless means only," he explained.

A 30 km stretch of road into the Astore Valley had been blocked at various locations making access difficult, while portions of the Karakoram highway and the Gilgit-Skardu road had also been blocked, he said. Helicopter usage was minimal because of huge dust clouds in the area, he added.

Thursday's quake came less than a month after a similar quake jolted the area on 2 and 3 November. Eleven people were killed and scores injured when a series of moderate quakes rocked an area near Gilgit. Four villages some 60 km southeast of Gilgit, including Muthat, Tato, Raikot and Jail, as well as a number of hamlets along a 20 km stretch of mountainous terrain, were affected.

The vast majority of those people have since been evacuated to a temporary government-established camp at Gunar Farms, a small town 30 km north of Chilas.

Asked what relief supplies were needed to respond to Thursday's quake, Khan said at the moment they were sending relief though their own resources and had requested that those NGOs who had worked in the earlier quake come forward again.