Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt General Mohammad Afzal has said that he could confirm 23 deaths and injuries to 300 others in Mirpur district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) as a result of the earthquake which jolted AJ&K and different parts of the country on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference here, he said the NDMA in collaboration with State Disaster Management Authority in first phase will focus on rescue activities and relief activities.
He confirmed that Mangla Dam was not adversely affected by the earthquake, adding that turbine operations were shut down and are currently still suspended because a lot of silt had accumulated in the water. The dam is being drained to flush the silt after which normal operations will resume.
"The water is being released in a highly regulated manner because if more than 50,000 cusecs are released in Jhelum and PD Khan, flooding can occur. So a volume of less than 50,000 cusecs is being released," he told the media.
"Right now, I can confirm the deaths of 10 people. Some reports have placed the figure at 17 and some at 15, but I can only confirm 10," said Lt Gen Afzal.
"Approximately 100 persons are injured. Some reports say 300 are injured. Some of the injured only suffered minor injuries, so if I were to count those with serious injuries, the figure is around 100," he added.
The NDMA chairman was addressing a press conference later in the day, where he said that an appeal for help will be made to the nation, if needed, in the wake of the situation created by the earthquake.
A strong earthquake jolted the federal capital Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and its suburban parts on Tuesday afternoon; however, no major incident of death and damage was reported from other parts of the country except Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) till filing of this report. Tremors felt for 10 seconds in various cities including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar, Pasrur, Jhelum, Kot Momin, Murree, Kala Bagh, Sangla Hills and many others where citizens came out of their houses and offices.
He said that for the next two days, the focus will be on rescue and then later on data will be gathered about the damage caused by the earthquake. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers with its epicenter lying one kilometer southeast of Mirpur, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
"In Mirpur, besides the city, a small town Jatlan and two small villages Manda and Afzalpur are among the areas hit the worst," he said, adding, "Even in these areas, the most damage was to the infrastructure."
Speaking of infrastructural damage, Lt Gen Afzal said the main road going from Mangla to Jatlan, which runs alongside a river, has suffered major damage. He said that three major bridges have also been damaged along with public residences.
According to Lt Gen Afzal, NDMA officers as well as Pakistan's Armed Forces including ground troops, which have Engineer Corps and their equipment, have been dispatched to the affected areas and they have either reached or are about to reach.
"At this moment, the district administration teams, State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) teams and our teams are already present in the disaster-struck areas," he said.
He said that NDMA vehicles are being loaded with 200 tents, 800 blankets, 200 kitchen sets and 100 medical kits which will reach there that night.
He said that PDMA Punjab had also contributed to the relief efforts by volunteering 20 ambulances, medical teams, and six rescue vehicles along with a team of 100 rescue officials.
"Pakistan Army's search and rescue team is already on its way. Forces from the Jhelum and Mangla cantonments have begun to arrive," he added.
Afzal said that rescue and search teams from Islamabad are making preparations and will be dispatched that night. He further said that one rescue and search team has also been dispatched from Lahore by PDMA Punjab and it will reach by night.
The NDMA chairman said that over the next few days, besides relief efforts, a plan will be chalked out for rehabilitation, recovery and restoration of normalcy in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, expressing grief over the loss of precious lives and damage to properties during the deadly tremor in parts of country, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that the government will announce a compensatory package for the quake affectees after receiving complete details.
Talking to journalists, Firdous said that PM Imran Khan also expressed deep sorrow and grief over the casualties caused by the devastating earthquake in the country.
Responding to a question, the special assistant said that PM Imran was fighting Kashmir's case effectively at every international forum. She said that they would expose the real face of India before the world.
Firdous urged the international community and human rights organizations to play their due role to stop atrocities and grave human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.
Reuters adds: An earthquake shook Azad Jammu & Kashmir and northern area of country on Tuesday, destroying buildings, cracking roads, killing 22 people and injuring nearly 300 more, government and police officials said.
Photos and video carried by local media showed dozens of collapsed buildings and homes, uprooted trees and cracks in roads large enough to swallow cars in Mirpur.
Muhammad Safdar, 60, who lives near Mirpur, said he was in his house when it suddenly started shaking.
"We saw walls and the roof developing cracks and ceiling fans and other articles falling down, and we rushed out into an open field," he told Reuters by telephone. "I have never seen such a devastating earthquake in this area in my life."
The magnitude 5.8 quake struck 14 miles (23 km) north of Jhelum, roughly 120 km southeast of capital Islamabad, at a relatively shallow depth of 10 km, the United States Geological Survey reported. Ramzan Ahmad, 65, who suffered a head injury and bleeding nose, said that he was with his family of seven when his house collapsed. "We all got injuries," he said. "I saw dozens of houses razed on my way to hospital."
District commissioner Mohammad Tayyab, a local government official, and district police chief Irfan Saleem said 22 people were dead and nearly 200 injured. The last major earthquake in Kashmir happened in 2005, killing more than 80,000 people.