NZ to help victims of quake and storm

New Zealand will contribute $750,000 to the relief effort underway to help victims of a massive earthquake that has devastated parts of Pakistan and India.

The death toll from the quake, which struck on Saturday afternoon NZ time, has spiralled out to an estimated 20,000, mainly in the Kashmir region of Pakistan, according to reports from there.

Caretaker Aid Minister Marian Hobbs today said government aid agency NZAid would make an initial contribution of $750,000 to the international relief effort.

"The situation in Pakistan is very serious and there is a great need for the international community to assist in efforts to find the injured and care for the survivors."

Ms Hobbs said the money would most likely be spent on essential supplies such as tents, blankets and medicines, which Pakistan had requested.

"New Zealand knows well the devastation large earthquakes can bring and it is important that we help Pakistan and its neighbours as quickly and appropriately as we can," Ms Hobbs said.

NZAid would also contribute $250,000 to Guatemala and El Salvador, which had been devastated in the past few days by torrential rain and mudslides which had killed several hundred people.

Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said the situation in Kashmir was still being monitored, but so far there were no reports of New Zealanders in trouble.

A spokesman said there were only 46 New Zealanders registered in Pakistan with the ministry.

There were no reports of foreigners being among the casualties in the Indian regions.

New Zealand's honorary consul in Karachi was checking the 46 registered people, with priority to those in the north.

"At this point nothing indicates New Zealanders are involved," the spokesman said.

There had only been a few calls from people in New Zealand asking about family members or friends who are in the general region, which was not popular for New Zealand travellers.

The quake measured 7.6, triggering landslides, toppling apartment buildings and flattening villages of mud-brick homes near the border between Pakistan and India.

An estimated 40,000 have been injured by the quake, which shook buildings as far away as the Indian, Bangladeshi and Afghan capitals.

- NZPA