MIRPUR – It’s too soon to have an accurate count on injuries and the death toll from a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Tuesday night, September 24, near Mirpur in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

The earliest news was had the death tolls near 20 with 100 injured in the quake that collapsed homes and businesses. By late Wednesday, the number of reported deaths had nearly doubled, and the injury count had exceeded 400.

No estimate of the number of people who have been displaced from their homes and in need of shelter has been released.

Although authorities expressed confidence that the Mangla Dam had not been damaged, water from nearby canals was filling the large cracks and car-swallowing crevices in local roads.

A report in The Guardian described the sounds in the streets as a mixture of fear-ridden whispers and of women wailing as they mourned the loss of loved ones.

The quake was felt as far away as New Delhi over 370 miles away.

Friends and family outside of the Mirpur expressed concern on social media that they were unable to contact their relatives because of the discontinuation of mobile and internet services recently imposed on portions of Kashmir.

The Pakistan Armed Forces moved immediately into accelerated rescue operations. “There are people who are stuck there and who need immediate help. We are putting in all our resources to get people the best of our help.”

The area is prone to earthquakes because it is located at the junction of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Many readers may remember the 2005 quake in the region that left 3.5 million people homeless. More than 73,000 lost their lives in that quake.

Pray for the people of Mirpur during this life-changing event.

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