WASHINGTON, Nov 8: The death toll in earthquake has jumped to 87,350 after a new count of the dead in Pakistan, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank reported on Tuesday.
According to these reports, Pakistan’s official toll jumped by 13,000 — from 73,000 to 86,000 –- and might increase further. India has reported 1,350 deaths in occupied Kashmir.
The increase in death toll followed the discovery of more bodies in Mansehra and Azad Kashmir from the areas previously inaccessible to assessment teams due to landslides.
The report points out that UN workers are still racing to bring shelter to the 350,000 most desperate survivors one month after the disaster.
But one month after the quake, there is barely enough money to keep relief helicopters flying, and no talk of rebuilding.
The UN stepped up its appeals for more money, urging donors to be as generous as with other recent disasters.
It urgently needs $58 million to keep bringing help through November.
“What is particularly difficult in Kashmir is that people (will) freeze to death if they don’t get assistance in weeks,” UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said in New York.
Forecasters predict temperatures will dip to minus-25 degrees Celsius in some stricken areas.
The damage assessment report prepared by teams from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other donor agencies said the quake devastated a total of 7,197 educational institutions in NWFP and Azad Kashmir.
