Lt. Colonel J. Cedric Sharp, chief secretary in the Pakistan Territory, says the Oct. 9 earthquake that struck Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan has left the northwestern Pakistani city of Balakot in ruins.

"Balakot is a city devastated; more than devastated—it is utterly gone: there is nothing left of the town at all," Sharp said in an e-mail. "Many people are dead and survivors have no place to stay. All buildings have collapsed.

"I have just returned from the core of the earthquake zone, where devastation is appalling. We have just sent two large truckloads of emergency food packages, milk powder, drinking water, blankets, clothing, and tents."

Sharp, who is stationed in Lahore, said lower-lying regions have again become accessible by land, but Balakot and other mountain towns are still accessible only by horseback or helicopter.

International Headquarters has dispatched experienced officers to help: Captain MacDonald Chandi, who is a Pakistani stationed in London, and recently retired Major David Wakefield, who has been involved in tsunami relief in Sri Lanka.

Sharp said the Salvation Army does not have any corps or social centers in the most devastated areas.

"At one community I visited [where many Salvationists live] near Islamabad, a canal which runs in a ravine about 20 feet below the community dwellings suddenly rose well above the 20 feet and swamped the entire village. No one was killed there but there were, needless to say, many injuries, and properties were badly damaged. For the past week, every night we still feel the aftershocks and the building shake."

Sharp said the greatest need is for tents, blankets, drinking water, and milk powder. Many of the survivors are in need of shelter, and the nights are often cold as winter sets in.

Meanwhile, a Salvation Army aid convoy made its way to Abbotabad in northern Pakistan. Two trucks contained enough supplies to meet the immediate food and washing needs of 5,000 people (500 families). Also on board were 100 tents and 1,000 blankets. Another 500 tents were to arrive soon.

Each family received a food parcel containing flour, water, milk powder, vegetables, sugar, tea, washing powder, and soap.

A team of 15 Pakistani Salvation Army officers accompanied the convoy and oversaw the distribution as soon as the roads were cleared of rubble. To ensure the safe arrival of the Salvation Army supplies, the British High Commission provided security for the convoy.

The Salvation Army's International Headquarters (IHQ) in London, England, has also sent an additional $60,000, bringing the total for relief supplies to $120,000. Donations in aid of the relief work are welcome and urgently needed. Monetary donations may be sent to your local Salvation Army earmarked "Disaster Relief," or made online at www.salvationarmy.org.

Miriam Sharp Rader, who is Cedric Sharp's daughter and is employed at Territorial Headquarters in the USA Eastern Territory, said her father has requested prayer for order because "people are so desperate that they are just grabbing everything from the trucks."

Another prayer request is that The Salvation Army will find more supplies to fill up the next trucks. Stores are emptying in Lahore, Karachi, and other major cities, so prices are skyrocketing and it's difficult to even find needed supplies.

"They are also worried because winter is coming and the people there are desperate, with nothing," Miriam said. "The winter there is very cold."

—A boy was pulled from the rubble of a school. He was the only one from his class to survive.

—The worst-affected area was along the Kashmir border, which is disputed territory between India and Pakistan and has been the scene of heavy fighting. Many soldiers guarding both sides of the border were killed by the earthquake. However, there are reports of Indian soldiers going out of their way to help Pakistani earthquake victims, people they were trying to kill just a few days before the quake struck.