Pakistan Hit By Strong Aftershock

A strong aftershock shook Pakistan on Wednesday, rocking buildings in Islamabad for several seconds and rattling the nerves of people who survived this month's quake that killed more than 54,000.

There were no immediate reports of damage, and Pakistan's seismological center in Peshawar said it had not yet calculated the magnitude. However, it felt stronger than a 5.3-magnitude quake registered overnight with an epicenter in the mountainous region of Kashmir, which was worst affected by the main Oct. 8 earthquake.

Meanwhile, aid workers warned on Monday that exposure and infection could trigger a second wave of deaths atop the 54,000 estimated killed in South Asia's earthquake, while thousands of injured people languished without shelter and medical care in villages across the stricken Himalayan region of Kashmir.

"It's the injured who most urgently need help," said Bill Berger, leader of the USAID disaster assistance response team. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said more than 80,000 people were injured in the Oct. 8 earthquake, and relief officials say many people who were seriously hurt by falling debris remain cut off in the isolated mountains of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, where most of the destruction happened.

Still there were incredible stories of survival, like that of 8-year-old Abdul Jabbar who was spotted by a Pakistani helicopter in the village of Jarid among the rubble of his aunt's house. He had been visiting his aunt and her family, all of whom were killed, and it was unclear how he managed to survive so long on his own.

He was picked up by the military and flown to safety in his home village of Haripur, where he was reunited safely with his family.

Helicopters, which resumed flying relief missions on Monday after heavy rains forced the suspension of most flights, have ferried thousands to hospitals in Pakistani cities.

An estimated 54,000 people died in the quake, and the death toll is expected to rise. The UN has estimated 3.3 million need food and shelter ahead of the winter. The Pakistani military, civilian volunteers and international aid groups are rushing aid and doctors to the region, as fast as the logistical challenges allow. Landslides caused by the earthquake cut off many roads, which will take several weeks to clear.

In the village of Kanur, survivors standing on the rubble of their homes waved colored clothes to attract the attention of a Pakistani military helicopter flying through the mountains, then begged its crew to take on board injured villagers.

"Please take my daughter! Please take my daughter!" pleaded Tanvir Hussain, who lost two sons, two daughters and his wife in the disaster. His remaining daughter, 6-year-old Razila, suffered two fractured legs.

Razila, sobbing in pain, was among six badly hurt girls and women who boarded the helicopter and were shifted to a makeshift hospital in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan's part of Kashmir. About 30 other seriously injured people were left behind.

It was the first time that a relief flight had reached Kanur, 38 miles north of Muzaffarabad.

At the helicopter's next stop, Kel Garam, a village where 250 died in the quake, villagers had fashioned a helipad in a clearing in hopes that a chopper would bring supplies. It landed near the local mosque, whose walls had been cracked by the temblor.

"My wife is injured, my brother is killed, another of my brothers lost a leg and we are waiting for help," said resident Sayed Wahab Shah.

Soldiers handed out relief goods, including blankets and food — but no tents, the most badly needed item in these hills. There was only room for one of the village's 30 seriously injured people to catch the flight out.

Army spokesman Col. Rana Sajjad said aid packages of food and blankets were also dropped to some of the other 584 remote villages in the Muzaffarabad district.

"It's very difficult to reach each and every place," he said, adding many people had walked into the bigger settlements from the mountains seeking aid.

Maj. Gen. Farooq Ahmed Khan, Pakistan's top relief official, said 33,000 tents and 130,000 blankets have been distributed to quake survivors. He said 260,000 tents and two million blankets were needed.

"There are serious patients with infected wounds and gangrene," said Sebastian Nowak of the International Committee of the Red Cross, after a team of the group's doctors landed in Chekar, 40 miles east of Muzaffarabad.

Nowak said about 200 people in the town had not received medical help since the 7.6-magnitude quake, and a Red Cross relief flight had to turn back at the weekend because villagers were fighting over supplies.

"They had sticks and they were fighting for relief goods. There was no perimeter security and we felt threatened. There must be a perimeter security while helicopters land," he said.

Things are not as bleak in the town of Balakot, where finding drinking water isn't a problem, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger: The army is tapping into mountain streams to bring water to victims of the earthquake. They're brought in pumps to fill up big plastic jugs. While water-borne diseases are often a problem after earthquakes, this is pure mountain water, flowing down from the Himalayas.

There's also adequate food and clothing in Balakot, but there is a shortage of tents there, says Berger, with just a few yards of canvas or cloth strung between trees.

Torrential rain and snow hampered relief operations in parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday as roads to the badly hit Uri and Tangdhar areas were cut off from the rest of the region. Trucks loaded with relief supplies were stranded on mountain roads, and survivors huddled in rain-sodden tents and lit fires to keep warm.

Soldiers drove mule teams with relief supplies to some of the steep-sided villages, crossing people with bundles on their shoulders carefully walking down to lower elevations.

The local government of Pakistani-held Kashmir estimated that at least 40,000 people died there. Officials reported another 13,000 deaths in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, and India said 1,360 people died in the part of divided Kashmir that it controls.

In Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said she hoped the international community would help in long-term reconstruction after "the TV cameras go away and there is less talk of what is happening."

On Monday, two U.S. Navy ships carrying heavy machinery and other earthquake relief equipment and supplies docked in the port of Karachi. Dozens of other countries have also contributed aid.

Pakistan has also received aid from India, its longtime rival and a foe in three wars since their independence in 1947. Pakistan said it would accept helicopters from India, but without pilots.