Episcopal Relief and Development is providing emergency assistance to people devastated by the earthquake in Pakistan and India. The 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday, October 8 and has killed an estimated 30,000 people; government officials in Pakistan say the number could reach 80,000.

Many communities, particularly in Pakistan’s hard hit Northwest Frontier province, were completely leveled. At least 43,000 were injured in the country. Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, was the quake’s epicenter located 60 miles north-northeast of Islamabad. In India, 2,000 people are dead. More than a million people are homeless in the region and there is no power, water, or food in many areas. Powerful aftershocks have occurred after the quake was felt first across South Asia, from Afghanistan to Bangladesh.

ERD is working with Anglican and ecumenical partners to provide emergency assistance to people affected by the earthquake. ERD will support the Church of Pakistan and the Church of North India as they respond to needs in affected dioceses. ERD has partnered with Church World Service to provide immediate aid such as food and medical assistance in the devastated communities of Mansehra and Murree.

So far, 1,600 families have received food supplies in the affected areas of Azad Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier Province. The supplies include wheat flour, rice, cooking oil, sugar, tea leaves, and matches.  The assistance will also supply shelter kits, including items such as a tent and plastic sheeting, to 15,000 families. In Mansehra, mobile medical personnel are providing tetanus shots as 70 percent of the area was destroyed. Medical camps are in the process of being organized in the affected areas for 50,000 to 100,000 people.

“In a region already struggling to recover from the tsunami, we stand with our partners as they provide medical care, shelter, sustenance, and comfort to people in need,” said Kirsten Laursen, ERD’s Senior Program Director for Asia and New Initiatives.

Please pray for people affected by the earthquake in Pakistan and India.

To help people affected by disasters, make a donation to the Emergency Relief Fund at http://www.er-d.org/, or call 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can be mailed to Episcopal Relief and Development, Emergency Relief Fund, PO Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101.