A Pakistani woman mourns the death of her son in Muzaffarabad. (Reuters)

MUZAFFARABAD, October 11, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Thousands of Pakistani families are fleeing the quake-ravaged city of Muzaffarabad , now lacking electricity, sanitation and inadequate supplies of food, water and fuel.

"I'm going to Rawalpindi , we can't live here, our house is badly damaged, there is no food, no water, no electricity, nothing's here," said Baber Ali, loading his belongings onto a large truck which he had hired with seven other families, reported Reuters.

The killer quake, which struck the Indian subcontinent on Saturday, has wrecked havoc on the mountain city, the capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir , with most houses, government buildings and shops totally collapsed.

Once a pretty riverside city of around 100,000, the 7.6 magnitude quake has left the city barely recognizable, looking like a "city of death".

The old part of the town was completely flattened with frightened residents spending chilly nights in the open, camping in fields, parks, graveyards and cars.

Shops have been destroyed and markets are closed, making it almost impossible for residents to find food and water. Prices for what little is available has risen by up to 10 times.

Some 23,000 people were confirmed dead in Pakistan alone and about 51,000 others were injured, with the death toll expected to rise.

Flood of Passengers

Pakistani quake survivors look through the rubble of collapsed houses in Muzaffarabad. (Reuters)

With winter approaching and nights getting colder, more residents are packing their belongings to seek shelters and safety in other places.

"Winter is in a month or so and I don't see the reconstruction of my house starting before then so it's better for my family to go to our relatives in Murree," said Kamran Kiyani, referring to a hill town near the capital Islamabad .

Saleem Mughal, a bus service operator to Rawalpindi , said there was a flood of passengers fleeing the city.

"Every day 2,500 to 3,000 families are leaving Muzaffarabad to cities like Rawalpindi and Abbotabad," he said.

"There's been a big rush since the road was cleared. People are willing to pay a big amount to get seats for their family on the first available bus."

Muzaffarabad sits on a bluff where two rivers join, nestled at the bottom of the steep, heavily forested Kashmir valley and overlooked by a large peak, Pir Chunasi.

The city, where more than 11,000 people are confirmed dead, is linked to the outside world only by two twisting roads which climb out of the valley.

Looting

The spread of looting in the city in the wake of the killer quake was another reason for the residents to escape Muzaffarabad.

"Gangs of looters are roaming around at night and they're now looting houses and I don't want to put my family at risk," said Naseem Bibi waiting to board a bus with her family.

"I'm going to stay with my sister in Abbotabad and after three or four months we'll think about whether we're coming back or not," she said, surrounded by a pile of bags and cases.

Looting has broken out at night on Monday, October 10, and police fired into the air to chase off a gang raiding a government depot.

Desperation has driven some survivors to looting. Five relief trucks were looted by a group of about 200 men and women on the main road on Monday, a relief worker said.

Saleem Khan, a member of a Pakistani aid group, whose goods were stolen, said some relief workers have been beaten by angry crowds trying to get supplies.

"People are angry, they waited for government relief for more than two days. Some groups have now started looting stuff before it reaches the camps."