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The epicentre was close to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, which lies some 95 kilometres north of Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad.
In Pakistan, more than 73,000 people were killed and some 128,000 people injured. There was also extensive damage and loss of life in Indian-administered Kashmir. The official death toll in India was 1,500 and more than 4,500 people were injured.
Responding to the crisis
In Kashmir several villages were completely destroyed and countless others badly damaged. As much as 70 per cent of the Muzaffarabad district, which had a population of close to one million, was devastated by the earthquake. The North-West Frontier Province was also severely affected. More than 6,000 schools and colleges were damaged or destroyed by the quake and 3.5 million people were displaced.
The Pakistan Red Crescent and the Indian Red Cross responded immediately to the crisis, and their volunteers and staff worked around the clock to help those affected by the disaster.
The British Red Cross was at the forefront of the emergency relief efforts. On 9 October 2005, we launched an emergency appeal which thanks to the generosity of the public raised £5.2 million. Funds raised by the appeal were used to buy immediate relief items including tents, tarpaulins, and hygiene and kitchen sets and to support the work of the volunteers and staff at the Pakistan Red Crescent and Indian Red Cross.
More about the Pakistan earthquake | 
