'Are we not Pakistanis?' Quake survivors appeal for aid

Desperate survivors bracing for a fourth freezing night in the rubble of their earthquake-flattened homes appealed for aid Thursday as the Pakistan government said thousands more houses had been damaged than previously thought.

 Rugged terrain, severed communication lines and an unstable security situation have impeded relief efforts since Monday's 7.5 magnitude quake killed more than 390 people in Pakistan and Afghanistan and levelled thousands of homes.

 With winter fast approaching in Pakistan's worst-hit province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, survivors said they and their children were running out of time.

 "After November 15 there will be three to four feet of snow here and we have nothing to protect us," said Mir Wali, whose village Charun Ovir is 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) up in mountainous terrain in the northwestern district of Chitral.

 Dust is still rising from the mountain after the earthquake caused cracks in it, leaving villagers fearing a landslide or collapse.

 "Are we not Pakistanis?" he said. "Today we need Pakistan."

 The government must act before the snow falls, he said. "After that the roads will be blocked and we won't be able to save our children."

 On Thursday Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) announced on its website a spike in the number of houses damaged in the quake, from nearly 14,000 to more than 25,000.

 More than 15,000 of those were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone.

 For days authorities had been struggling to reach the most isolated communities in the mountainous region, but the NDMA said Thursday it believes it has reached "most of the affected area".

 Pakistan's confirmed death toll so far stands at 272, with more than 2,000 people injured, but a spokesman said the NDMA was still in the process of estimating a final toll.