On Saturday October 8th, 2005 an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale struck northern Pakistan. The two regions hardest hit were the Northwest Frontier Province and the Azad Kashmir Province.

At the time the earthquake struck, the majority of children were in school. The official death toll from the quake has surpassed 83,000 and is expected to rise as high as 100,000. More than 60% of those who perished were children and women.

More than 80,000 people were injured, many with serious, life-changing injuries.

Nearly 3 million people were displaced from their homes. Most are now living in tents. Rebuilding schools, hospitals and houses presents one of the greatest challenges ever to face humankind following a natural disaster.

Foreign governments have pledged $6.5 billion in aid, however, Pakistan’s foreign ministry figures indicate that only a small fraction of this amount has been received into national coffers.

To assist with disaster relief, please make a financial contribution to the not-for-profit agency that best represents your interests. We highly recommend you consider Relief International. You can contact Relief International directly or get their address and background information by clicking here: RI.org

If you would like to view photographs of the areas hardest hit, please visit the Pakistan Earthquake Photo Gallery by clicking here.