SRINAGAR, Oct 12: The earthquake that killed tens of thousands in Kashmir razed 40,720 homes and damaged nearly twice as many in occupied Kashmir. Rescuers had yet to reach 10 outlying villages, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, chief minister of occupied Kashmir, told a news conference on Wednesday.

He said 73,450 houses, mostly made of timber and mud, were partially damaged by the tremor.

“Our engineers will assess the partially damaged homes to see if they are habitable or not,” the chief minister said, adding that the final damage figure was likely to rise.

Some 143,000 people had been affected in two districts alone by Saturday’s quake, which claimed 1,300 lives in the held state, the chief minister said.

“The damage is more in Uri (district) where 95 villages comprising 120,000 inhabitants have been affected,” he said, adding that in the district of Tangdhar, 23,000 people in 42 villages have been hit.

Ten million people live in the held state.

The chief minister asserted that relief operations were in full swing.

“Our priority is to provide tents,” he said in Srinagar. Several Indian states were sending tents and other relief aid for survivors.

The Indian government would ‘adopt’ villages which have been completely flattened, forcing residents to live in the open, the minister added. —AFP