Several homes of Latter-day Saints were damaged in Faisalabad, Pakistan, when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Oct. 8.
Hitting the region bordering Pakistan, northern India, and Afghanistan, the quake is estimated to have killed between 20,000 and 30,000 people, injured 42,00 people, and left 4 million homeless.
All Church-service representatives serving in the area are safe and there are no reports of death or injury to any Latter-day Saints. A meetinghouse in Taxila, Pakistan, near Islamabad, received minor damage, according to a Church welfare report.
In response to the disaster, Church leaders in the Asia Area met with Pakistani officials in Hong Kong and consulted with Islamic Relief Worldwide, a Muslin humanitarian organization with which the Church has formed a partnership in past relief efforts. Islamic Relief has committed to provide transportation costs for blankets, clothing, first aid, and medical supplies donated by the Church, according to the welfare report.
In Pakistan, 17,000 deaths were reported in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where about 50 percent of the buildings were destroyed in the disaster. An additional 1,000 deaths were reported in North West Frontier Province, where hundreds of school children died when their school collapsed, according to the report. Nearly 40 percent of the affected areas are inaccessible due to landslides.
In India, between 600 and 1,000 people died and more than 1,000 buildings were damaged.
