Relief supplies have begun arriving in parts of northern Pakistan for the first time since a devastating earthquake hit the Himalayan region 10 days ago.
Rainy weather cleared Monday, allowing dozens of helicopters to resume delivering supplies and transporting injured people. Red Cross officials tell VOA that helicopters must still airdrop supplies as they are unable to land in several parts of Pakistani Kashmir and remote villages in the Northwest Frontier Province.
Relief teams are warning that hundreds of thousands of survivors are still in need of food, medicine and blankets. They say the survivors urgently need winterized tents before harsh Himalayan winter sets in. Describing the magnitude of the need, one senior U.N. official told the French News Agency in Islamabad that there may not be "enough tents in the world" available to shelter survivors for the winter.
Pakistan's central government says the quake killed more than 54,000 people, including more than 40,000 in Kashmir. But Kashmiri leaders say the death toll is even higher.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
