At least 360 people are known to have died in both countries, but officials are warning the number will rise, particularly in Afghanistan.
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The province’s casualty figures of 11 dead and 25 injured “will rise by the end of the day, once the survey teams get to the remote areas and villages”, he said.
The quake was 213 km (132 miles) deep and centred 254 km (158 miles) northeast of Kabul.
At least 12 schoolgirls who died in a stampede were among the 76 casualties reported so far in Afghanistan, said the country’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah.
Sonatullah Taimor, a spokesman for the governor of Afghanistan’s Takhar province, said food, blankets and tents were in short supply, at a time when people have been warned to sleep outside, in near-freezing temperatures, in case of aftershocks.
“The government is capable enough to rescue and rehabilitate those affected by the natural disaster and every effort will be made to help the fellow citizens in distress”, he said while chairing a high-level meeting here.
But the Taliban released a statement Tuesday calling on its members to help the relief effort and telling aid agencies not to “hold back” in supplying food, shelter and medical supplies to victims. Google also launched its “person finder” service.
The Sri Lankan government Tuesday extended condolences and offered support to those who were affected in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan by the massive quake that hit Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday.
But that quake was much shallower than Monday’s, just 6 miles below the surface.
Residents of Kabul and the Indian capital Delhi were shaken by the quake, which sent frightened people rushing into the streets.
“What we’re hearing is that a lot of mud houses have collapsed, but huge buildings have been spared from the natural disaster”, said Gorkhmaz Huseynov, the head of the worldwide Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Pakistan.
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The BBC said the region had a history of powerful earthquakes caused by the northward collision of India with Eurasia. The two plates were moving towards each other at a rate of 4-5cm per year, the media outlet added. “The injured coming in this late in the evening are mostly from mountainous areas”, said local reporter Qaiser Malik.
