2005 Kashmir Earthquake
Shortly after 8:50 am on October 5, 2005, in the Kashmir region of Pakistan, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook the region. The epicenter of said earthquake was about 12 miles to the northeast of the Pakistani capital of Kashmir Muzaffarabad, located at 34.493 degrees North and 73.629 degrees East, with a focal depth of 26 km (History 2009). Kashmir is located right on the boundary of the Eurasian Plate and the Indian plate. These plates are in collision with each other, with the Indian plate being forced under the Eurasian Plate, creating one of the most active fault zones in the world. In the case of the 2005 earthquake, a shallow fault caused a rupture stretching 75 km (Naranjo 2008). This rupture caused shaking which was felt as far as Northern India and Afghanistan. The quake was one of the most damaging and deadly natural disasters that the region has faced in recent history with and estimated 80,000 people killed, and more than twice that injured. The quake also left more than 4 million people homeless just before winter (EERI 2005). In addition to the initial shaking and damages of the quake, there were continued landslides and fissures in the earth, causing immeasurable damages throughout the region.
The impact this earthquake had on the city of Muzaffarabad and the surrounding region were devastating. The death toll was one of the most deadly earthquakes not only in the region, but in the world, with a death toll of around 80,000 people. In addition to this, about 200,000 people were injured and millions displaced. This would be bad enough alone, but the disaster occurred right before winter, exacerbating the effects. Response to the disaster were enacted as quickly as possible by the local army, who while suffering damages themselves, still attempted to provide relief to those in need in the form of food, medicine and shelter. Rescue operations were launched throughout the region as well, in an attempt to save many of those buried in the rubble. Though relief was as swift as it could be with field hospitals set up almost immediately after the incident and helicopters delivering supplies, many of the operations were hindered due to the many landslides following the event. These landslides wiped out roads throughout the region, making it difficult to travel both on foot and in an automobile, with the main mode of relief transportation being helicopters. This particular earthquake was not only devastating to the people, but also the structures and infrastructure of the area. Most of the buildings in the city of Muzaffarabad were not built to withstand earthquakes, many of them being unreinforced stone houses with weak trusses and random building materials. These older stone buildings were reduced to rubble in the aftermath of the quake, with even government buildings being absolutely destroyed. As far as mitigation goes, many of the people in the region do not have access to the resources or the infrastructure to build earthquake safe buildings, which is unfortunate due to the evergrowing population of the region. And as active the region is with earthquakes, a similar event is comparatively likely to happen again, with the growing population making risks and potential losses even greater.
Video: https://www.rferl.org/a/deadly-earthquake-strikes-pakistan-administered-kashmir/30183612.html
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| https://newspakistan.tv/14-years-of-kashmir-earthquake-that-claimed-over-88000-lives-on-october-8/ |
Sources
EERI. Overview Pakistan Learning from Earthquakes W First Report on the ... Dec. 2005, http://eeri.org/lfe/pdf/kashmir_eeri_1st_report.pdf.
History.com Editors. “2005 Kashmir Earthquake.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/kashmir-earthquake.
Mashaal, RFE/RL's Radio. “Deadly Earthquake Strikes Kashmir.” RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 25 Sept. 2019, https://www.rferl.org/a/deadly-earthquake-strikes-pakistan-administered-kashmir/30183612.html.
“When the Earth Moved Kashmir.” NASA, NASA, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/KashmirEarthquake.
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