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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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December
2005
Volume 9 - Number
3 |
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On October 8th 2005, a major seismological disturbance of 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale occurred at 08:50:38 Pakistan Standard Time in Kashmir Pakistan. Kashmir lies in the area where the Eurasian and Indian Tectonic plates are colliding. Out of this collision, the Himalayas began uplifting 50 million years ago, and continue to rise by about 5 mm/year. This geological activity is the cause of the earthquakes in the area. The earthquake caused widespread destruction in northern Pakistan, as well as damage in Afghanistan and northern India. The worst hit areas were Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), and western and southern parts of the Kashmir valley in the Indian-administered Kashmir. As of 8 November, the Pakistani government's official death toll was 87,350. Some estimate that the death toll could reach over 100,000. Most of the casualties resulting from the earthquake were in Pakistan where the official death toll has topped 87,000 and is expected to continue to rise, putting it higher than the massive scale of destruction of the Quetta earthquake of May 31st 1935. 1,300 deaths have also been confirmed in India. As Saturday is a normal school day in the region, most students were at schools when the earthquake struck. Many were buried under collapsed school buildings. Many people were also trapped in their homes and, because it was the month of Ramadan, most people were taking a nap after their pre-dawn meal and did not have time to escape during the quake. Reports indicate that entire towns and villages were completely wiped out in Northern Pakistan with other surrounding areas also suffering severe damage. Statistics: • 49,739 have died, the injured around 74,000, Major General Farooq Ahmad Khan told a news conference on Thursday 20 October. • "At least 40,000 people had been killed and 42,397 people had been hurt", Pakistani Interior Minister said. He also added that "around 11,000 of the dead were in Muzzafarabad". • 13,000 confirmed deaths in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. • This report was previously attributed to CNN, which "has not confirmed that figure". Later, the Pakistani-controlled Kashmir region's Minister of Works and Communication, told AFP that more than 30,000 people have died in Kashmir. • 1,300 people perished and 4,500 were injured in the quake that flattened or damaged 32,000 houses in Jammu and Kashmir, according to Indian Prime Minister in latest press reports • 250 bodies have been recovered in Pakistani-controlled Azad Kashmir according to authorities from Muzzafarabad. • Around 500 female students were killed when the roof of their school collapsed (Northern Pakistan). • As of November 9, approximately 2500 Pakistani soldiers were reportedly killed on duty in Pakistan, including 3 Brigadiers, 15 battalion commanders as well as scores of junior officers. • At least 39 people were killed and over 150 others are being treated for injuries in Srinagar’s SMHS hospital. • According to Pakistani Information Minister, one girl has been killed when a school collapsed in Rawalpindi in Pakistan and another 200-250 are feared dead. According to a NDTV report, one person died in Baramulla in India's Jammu and Kashmir state when a building collapsed. • According to the Associated Press, at least a dozen people were injured and dozens more were feared trapped in the rubble of a 19-story collapsed building, reported earlier, in Islamabad • Two people were killed, including a five-year-old boy, in the border district of Gurdaspur, Indian Punjab. References: A crisis of neglect". (Nov. 6, 2005). New Sunday Times, p. 18. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Kashmir_earthquake http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/10/08/quake.pakistan/ |