Afghan-Pakistan earthquake: What we know so far

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – At least 350 people are known to have died after a massive quake hit Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the toll expected to rise as rescuers reach remote mountainous areas.

Below is a list of what is known so far about the 7.5 magnitude quake:

• Pakistan’s disaster management authorities reported 241 people killed and more than 1,600 injured.
  
  
• Afghan officials confirmed at least 115 dead and hundreds more injured, but have not offered a full breakdown.
  
  
• The Afghan toll includes 12 schoolgirls trampled to death in a stampede as they fled their classrooms in Takhar province when the quake hit, 35 others were injured.
  
  
• In Afghanistan the confirmed breakdown of the death toll so far includes: at least 30 people in Kunar province; 12 in Takhar province; nine in Badakhshan province near the epicentre; eight in Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan, and at least two in northern Baghlan province
  
  
• In Pakistan at least 30 people were known to have died in northern tribal areas, 185 in the northwest, nine in Gilgit-Baltistan and one in Pakistani Kashmir.
  
  
• The epicentre of the quake was located in Badakhshan. A large part of the province, with its population of nearly 1 million people, is effectively under Taliban control.
  
  
• More than 1,500 homes have been reported damaged or destroyed in Badakhshan.
  
  
• The worst affected areas in both Afghanistan and Pakistan are remote and mountainous, with limited infrastructure.
  
  
• Communication lines have been be severely damaged, hampering efforts to reach survivors and assess the full scale of the disaster.
  
  
• India has pledged to help both Afghanistan and Pakistan with the rescue effort.
  
  
• The quake happened at a depth of 213.5 kilometres (132 miles), much deeper than a 7.6 magnitude quake that struck Pakistan in 2005 killing more than 75,000 people and displacing some 3.5 million.
  
  
• Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
  
  
• The quake was also felt in India, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. 
  – Rappler.com