A powerful earthquake centered in the Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan sent tremors across South Asia, on Saturday 9 Oct 2005 around 9 am. This is the worst earthquake in the region in recent times. The quake was centered in the far-flung villages of the North-West Frontier Province. Estimates of the quake's magnitude varied from 6.8 to 7.8. Its epicenter was roughly 60 miles north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, where 20 "significant aftershocks" measuring between 5 and 6.2 in magnitude were felt throughout Saturday. Officials warned that serious aftershocks could continue for two days.

Millions of people remained homeless early Wednesday in the Himalayan regions of northern Pakistan and India. Estimates of dead vary from 22,000 to more than 45,000. Confusion over death tolls is common after such disasters, and confirmed death tolls frequently are far lower than original predictions.

New threats loom for the people left without shelter following the quake; On Tuesday, rain, wind and cold hindered relief efforts. Severe thunderstorms, some containing hail, temporarily grounded relief flights out of Islamabad. And as darkness embraced the area and the storms faded away, the cold air threatened those millions sleeping in tents or on open ground. international health experts warned of potential disease threats from the devastated public sanitation systems.

The earthquake sent tremors as far east as New Delhi, the Indian capital, and west to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Landslides have been triggered and the situation has been made worse by the rain and hailstorm that followed the earthquake. Relief efforts are stymied by blocked roads and broken communication channels. The situation is bad, with bodies lying everywhere. Those who have survived are lying in the open without food, shelter or medicine. Telephone lines remained down, and roads were blocked because of landslides. Torrential rain is likely to impede relief efforts.

An untold number of houses were flattened; telephone lines and electricity were disrupted; and several roads were blocked by landslides, cutting the Kashmir Valley off from the rest of the country. The quake also destroyed a number of religious shrines, mosques and temples.

The quake occurred along one of the Earth's great collision zones. The Indian subcontinent, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, rides on a tectonic plate that was attached to Antarctica until 150 million years ago. It broke away and moved north. The Indian subcontinent continues to move north at almost two inches a year.

Because the quake Saturday was shallow, six to 10 miles underground, the shaking on the surface probably was more intense than other quakes of its magnitude, making it one of the most most damaging earthquakes.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said that the international response had been "overwhelming" and "transcends" religion and politics. Kasuri acknowledged that Pakistan had gratefully accepted aid from India.