Things have gone worst following rugged terrain, severed communication lines and an unstable security situation impeded relief efforts since Monday's 7.5-magnitude quake ripped through the South Asia region, killing more than 300 people.
Sources told Bloom Gist that it took rescuers more than 40 hours to reach survivors as landslides caused by the tremors blocked roads in some areas, officials in the Pakistani capital Islamabad said.
"Almost all roads have been made passable now," said General Hidayatur Rehman, military commander for the worst-hit region in the northwest near the Afghan border. "We will try to reach all survivors."
However, a quake victim in Shangla, one of the worst-hit districts of Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told Al Jazeera that their situation was getting worse due to the extreme cold and lack of relief aid.
"We are still waiting for food, blankets and other necessary things for us to survive. It is extremely cold and it's been raining," Wahab Hayat told Al Jazeera.
Bad weather
According to a statement by UNICEF, heavy rain and snow have been pounding the remote, mountainous areas affected by the quake for the past two days.
"We are extremely concerned for the safety and wellbeing of children, who are already the most at risk in any disaster and are now in danger of succumbing to the elements as temperatures plummet," Karin Hulshof, UNICEF's regional director for South Asia, said.
In the statement, UNICEF is warning that "health, nutrition, hygiene and education services will now be under exceptional stress, placing more children at risk".
Source: Agencies
