In the afternoon of Tuesday, 24 September 2019, the district of Bhimber, Mirpur and Jhelum in Azad Jammu Kashmir and Punjab, Pakistan, was badly struck by an earthquake of magnitude 5.8 that killed 39 people injuring 746 others. Government reported 454 houses including 135 severely and 319 have been partially damaged.
Based on reports from other NGOs, it is estimated that around 9,000 families have been affected. About 1,000 houses have been destroyed out of the 7,000 damaged houses in Mirpur district alone. Aftershocks continues to rock the region, many left their homes and spent the night on the roadside or in parks. Infrastructure including houses, roads, mobile phone towers and electricity poles have been badly damaged and communication channel both through roads and telephones to some of the affected areas has been cut off. Information is still scarce as some areas are still inaccessible.
Community World Service Asia (CWSA) plans to access ACT Alliance’s Rapid Response Fund to provide food, water, shelter and household needs.
