Relief efforts in a Pakistani valley hit by a powerful earthquake this week are turning to preparing thousands of homeless for a freezing winter, officials said yesterday, as aftershocks jolted survivors.

The 6.4 magnitude quake struck Baluchistan, Pakistan's largest but poorest province last Wednesday, destroying or damaging thousands of mud-walled homes and killing at least 215 people.

The epicentre was in Ziarat district, a picturesque valley framed by jagged mountains and one of the region's main tourist spots. Night-time temperatures are falling below freezing.

Scores of aftershocks, some nearly as strong as the original quake, have hit with a magnitude 5 shock rattling the region at dawn yesterday. There were no reports of new damage.

Population Minister Humayun Aziz Kurd said about 75,000 people were homeless because their houses were destroyed or damaged.

Authorities aimed to get everyone under shelter by yesterday night and into proper accommodation within a month to help them cope with the winter, he said.

"We have enough food supplies and they have reached every corner of the quake-affected zone," Kurd told Reuters.

"There's no major health problem that we're facing. Of course, people were injured in the quake, but our medical teams, the NGOs and the people have done a great job."

The quake struck just over three years after 73,000 people were killed when a 7.6 magnitude quake hit Pakistan's northern mountains. Last year, the worst floods on record in Baluchistan killed hundreds.

A spokeswoman for the UN Children's Fund said aid was getting through.

"There is a lot of activity, the army has been very active in providing tents and food," said the spokeswoman, Antonia Paradela.

"The work now is coordinating with the authorities and aid agencies to make sure all the people affected get aid."

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