First hand Pakistan quake account: 'Death, destruction and bewilderment'

"YOU were lucky," I'm told. "There was another earthquake just after you left, 5.2 on the scale.

"Helicopters can't take off because of the bad weather and the roads are blocked again."

We have been visiting Allai, a region lying on a fault line in the north-west province of Kashmir near the Battgram district. It was completely devastated by the earthquake on October 8.

Nearly 200,000 people make their homes in remote villages in the valleys and gorges of the surrounding mountains here. Of these, 2,450 died and more than 20,000 were injured in the disaster.

Not a single house was left standing and the area has been feeling aftershocks ever since.

The main town in the Allai lowlands, Banna, can only be accessed safely by helicopter.

The Pakistani army arrived here four days after the quake. Colonel Zakeer is in charge of the base camp set up to house villagers coming down from the hills.

"This earthquake wreaked havoc of unprecedented magnitude," he said.

"It brought death, destruction, and total bewilderment."

With the help of a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the army has brought food, shelter and medical supplies to the evacuees. Tent villages have been constructed, and two makeshift hospitals are in operation.

Dr Salim Khan, a doctor working in the camp, was visiting his village Tailoos, 2km from Banna, when the earthquake hit.

"It was terrible," he told me.

"There was dust everywhere and it was difficult to see. I was treating people by breaking crates to use as splints and using tap water to clean wounds. The bodies were not cleared for five days."

Proper protection against the snow is essential if people are to survive the harsh sub-zero winter conditions.

"We have about 15 days before the snows cover this area," says Col Zakeer. We are trying to persuade as many people as possible to come down from the mountains, but their religious beliefs about men and women sharing housing and sanitation areas mean they are reluctant to do so."

Dr Huma, who works at Abbottabad medical teaching hospital, is coordinating part of the relief effort in Allai and other affected areas.

"Up in the hills they get between six and ten feet of snow," she says. "If we don't get corrugated sheets which we can use as temporary homes then many more people will die. We have a moral obligation to help these people."

So far 436 shelters have been handed out by the army. She adds: "This is a terrible catastrophe. Can you imagine what it must have been like?

"They even have to contend with added dangers like attacks by snow leopards and jackals now.

"One man I spoke to heard his child being eaten alive in the rubble.

"He said he could forget all this misery 'but not my child screaming. And I could do nothing to help.'

"It is just horrific."

The situation in Allai is far more organised than just a few weeks ago, says Dr Huma, but it is a race against time. Even before the earthquake around 250 villagers alone would die each winter and the whole valley is still extremely unstable.

Their existence here is difficult at the best of times. Now it is almost impossible. Food supplies have been destroyed, crops decimated, and most cattle are dead.

Because of the logistical difficulties in reaching these remote areas, helicopters drop supplies from the air, which are then rationed out by the army.

So far, with the help of a number of NGOs, the Pakistan army has distributed 10,855 tents, 27,135 blankets and 118 tonnes of food, but although aid is being delivered, Col Zakeer says much more is needed.

"We are providing supplies but we can only hand out what we receive from others," he says.

"There is a colossal need for people to give more."

Arif Hussain, a magistrate from High Wycombe, is one person raising money to help those affected by the earthquake.

Through his charity Five Pillars, he, along with his nephew Hazlemere GP Dr Nissar Yasseen and friend Kausar Iqbal, have given food, blankets, medicine and clothes, and raised around £40,000 in the last six weeks to help with the relief effort.

Now Mr Hussain is hoping that this most recent trip will help raise even more funds and prevent people from forgetting about the need for continuing support.

"There are so many people affected by this disaster it is vital we get as much money and supplies to these areas as fast as possible," he says. "The people who have died are, in a way, the lucky ones. Their suffering is over, at least.

"They do not have to face problems like living with multiple amputated limbs, being orphaned with no home, have the prospect of freezing to death in winter because there is no shelter, or the mental trauma of having to see family members die in front of you.

"People have to open their eyes and realise we need to do something to help them."

Mr Hussain wants to raise at least £100,000 which can be used to build a new village in Banna and an orphanage in Mandra, 20km outside Islamabad.

With the money left over from his previous trip, Mr Hussain is sending 200 corrugated metal shelters to Allai. Each shelter costs around 7,000 rupees (£70).

"These people are so isolated getting to them is incredibly difficult," he says. "It is very basic but with winter approaching they need to have some sort of protection."

The cost of rebuilding devastated areas is estimated at around £6.2 billion. Continued aid from overseas is therefore becoming increasingly vital.

"We are not running out of supplies but the backlog has gone," says Flight Lieutenant Jacqueline Hackett from the British High Commission in Islamabad.

"Building materials are what is needed now; nails, plastic sheets, tin."

Compensation payouts ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 rupees have been promised to every family by the Pakistani government, but nobody here really knows how, when, or if they will get any money at all.

Plans to rebuild entire cities like Muzaffarabad are also being discussed, but projects such as these will take years to complete and do little to help the huge numbers of people stranded in the hills.

People are confused, directionless and traumatised. But for villagers in remote districts like Allai, the priority now is simply survival.

• The Bucks Free Press has launched an Earthquake Appeal. People wishing to donate should visit any branch of Natwest bank, quoting account number 15602532 and branch code 601101. You can also donate by sending a cheque made payable to the Bucks Free Press Earthquake Appeal to Bucks Free Press, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, Loudwater, High Wycombe, HP10 9TY