Villagers rushed to bury the dead on Thursday and dug through rubble by hand in search of survivors following Wednesday’s deadly 6.1 magnitude earthquake that has killed over 1,000 people and injured hundreds more.

The quake, which struck just before 2am on Wednesday morning, while most people were asleep, has completely destroyed hundreds of houses and in some cases entire villages.

AP reported that in a village in Paktika, the men dug a row of graves as they tried to lay the dead to rest quickly in line with Muslim tradition.

In one courtyard, bodies lay wrapped in plastic to protect them from the rain that is hampering relief efforts for survivors.

The quake was Afghanistan’s deadliest in 20 years and officials have warned the casualty toll could rise.

NGOs have heeded the Islamic Emirate’s desperate appeal for help and aid is starting to make its way into the affected areas.

Among those who stepped in to help was the Bayat Foundation, which sent in an ambulance, medical supplies and a team of doctors, who will operate a mobile clinic in the worst hit areas to help the injured.

The World Food Program, Pakistan, Qatar, Iran and the United Nations have also dispatched assistance and aid along with other UN agencies.

Paktika residents meanwhile came together on Thursday and in conjunction with a charity association and local businesses established a collection of cash, food and water for those in need.

By mid-day these residents had already collected over 200,000 Afghanis for quake victims.

Afghanistan’s national cricket hero Rashid Khan also reached out to his fans and launched an appeal for donations on his social media pages.

In a rare move, the IEA’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzadah, pleaded for help from the world on Wednesday. In a statement he called on the international community to send in help as soon as possible.

However, the full extent of the devastation among villages in remote mountainous regions was slow in coming to light.

The head of the Paktika provincial health department Dr Hekmatullah Esmat told Ariana News early Thursday that in Paktika alone, “hundreds of families have been killed”.

One survivor, who spoke to Ariana News, said he lost 18 members from his 24-member family in the quake.

The official death toll has however been put at almost 1,000 but officials have said this tally is expected to rise.

The earthquake struck just before 2am on Wednesday morning, when most people were asleep. Thousands of village houses collapsed, resulting in the high casualty toll.