Supplies begin to reach earthquake-battered Pakistan. Eight U.S. helicopters are due Monday. More than 20,000 people are dead. U.N. official Vivian Tan and Ron Moreau of Newsweek tell Debbie Elliott what they're seeing. Kashmiri children sit outside earthquake-demolished homes in Uri. 
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.  I'm Debbie Elliott.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: Rescuers are digging through the rubble in a frantic search for survivors      of yesterday's earthquake in Pakistan and India.  At least 20,000 are      reported dead and more than 40,000 injured, and those numbers are      expected to rise. Today, Pakistani President General Pervaiz Musharraf      called it the worst disaster in the country's history and appealed to the      world for help.</s>President PERVAIZ MUSHARRAF (Pakistan): I hope that you realize this      hour of crisis to our nation.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: The quake was centered in the Hindu Kush Mountains, but      affected an area spanning more than 700 square miles.  The most severe      damage is in Kashmir, the region at the center of a political struggle      between India and Pakistan.  Entire villages have been destroyed.  Vivian      Tan is with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in      Islamabad.</s>Ms. VIVIAN TAN (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees): There's      an urgent need for a coordinated response.  Road conditions are very,      very bad. Landslides and mudslides have cut off access to large parts of      the north of the country, and broken infrastructure also makes it hard      for trucks or cars to deliver aid to people who need them urgently.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: Tan says 24 international rescue teams are either in the region      or on the way.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: Reporter Ron Moreau is based in Islamabad with Newsweek magazine.  He      says in that city, rescuers are trying to reach people inside a collapsed      12-story apartment building.</s>Mr. RON MOREAU (Newsweek): There are probably, they estimate, about a      hundred people that are still trapped in the rubble, and it's killed      certainly more than a dozen people and injured certainly more than a      hundred.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: I've seen pictures of this building and it looks like there are      buildings standing on either side, but the one in the middle is just      completely collapsed.  Are rescuers able to reach the victims?</s>Mr. RON MOREAU (Newsweek): Yes, they have.  I mean, there's even a team from the UK      that's come.  Then there are, you know, construction cranes trying to      lift the concrete slab.  But it's a very delicate situation because      they're afraid by too much lifting of the slabs they could, you know,      collapse that pancaked structure even more and perhaps even kill the      people who are still trapped in the holes inside this rubble.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: Have you been able to get out of Islamabad and see what's      happening in other parts of the affected area?</s>Mr. RON MOREAU (Newsweek): Well, I haven't been able to get to the area that was      pretty much the epicenter of the earthquake, Muzaffarabad, which is the      capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir.  But I talked to Pakistani      officials.  Up to 70 percent of the town of Muzaffarabad, which is a town      of--I don't know--about 40,000 people, has collapsed.  And it's pretty      isolated; it's only accessible by helicopter.  Most of the roads have      been closed by landslides, or the road has just fallen into the Neelum      River.  And a lot of schoolchildren were killed, also, because children      were in school at 9:00 in the morning on Saturday when the earthquake      occurred, so hundreds of children, it is believed, died in the--as the      schools collapsed right on top of them.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: How are officials dealing with just getting people help?</s>Mr. RON MOREAU (Newsweek): Well, the only help coming right now to the most badly      affected areas is by helicopter.  And the Pakistanis have taken--using      all of their helicopter assets.  In fact, they've even had to take      helicopters out of the Afghanistan border region--where they're still      fighting local tribal militants who are allied with the Taliban and      al-Qaeda--and they brought those helicopters into play to bring relief      supplies into the area and evacuate the wounded out.</s>Mr. RON MOREAU (Newsweek): And now the Americans are bringing in Chinook helicopters--they'll start      arriving tomorrow--to beef up the amount of helicopters that the      Pakistanis have.  And, of course, the United States has dozens of Chinook      twin-rotor helicopters in Afghanistan, so when those helicopters get in,      they'll be able to get, you know, more relief in to the people of the      area.  But there's a great need, the prime minister says, for medicine,      blankets and tents especially, because it's--in this mountainous area,      it's getting cold already, and a lot of people are being forced to live      outside.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: India, which has also been affected by the earthquake, was the      first to pledge to help Pakistan.  Can you tell us what the response has      been to that offer?</s>Mr. RON MOREAU (Newsweek): Well, the Pakistani response is basically, `Thank you very      much, but we can take care of our own problems,' and I think that's the      way it will continue.  I think they'll try and work more closely with      their--with other allies, whether in the Muslim world or in the West.      And also, the Indians kind of have their own hands full in their own area      in Kashmir, in the--just across the border.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: What about the aftershocks?  Are there still aftershocks?</s>Mr. RON MOREAU (Newsweek): Oh, yes, indeed.  I mean, it's very frightening.  I mean,      it's frightening enough for people here in Islamabad.  There have been      certainly more than a dozen, maybe 15 or so aftershocks, and there were      even some last night and a couple today.  It's bad enough here in the      city, but you can imagine the people out in the rural areas.  The      aftershocks just make them think that the whole thing is going to--their      nightmare is going to recur again.  And when the aftershocks occur, as      the prime minister said today, in that mountainous area, it kicks up      great dust clouds which, you know, hamper rescue efforts, also.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: Where are they taking the wounded when they're able to reach      people who've been hurt?</s>Mr. RON MOREAU (Newsweek): Well, that's the problem, because most of the hospitals in      the most affected area have been partially or completely destroyed.  So      they're trying to set up some kind of makeshift medical facilities on the      spot.  But the helicopters that are going into these areas to bring in      relief supplies are bringing the wounded out to the cities, whether it's      up to Peshawar in the northwest or down to Islamabad.  And the hospital      facilities that are on the spot, though, are totally overwhelmed.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: Ron Moreau is a reporter for Newsweek magazine.  He's speaking      with us from Islamabad.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: Thank you very much.</s>Mr. RON MOREAU (Newsweek): Thank you.