2005 Kashmir earthquake

Earthquake in South Asia

"Kashmir earthquake" redirects here. For the 1555 earthquake, see 1555 Kashmir earthquake. For the 1885 earthquake, see 1885 Kashmir earthquake. For the 2019 earthquake, see 2019 Kashmir earthquake.

2005 Kashmir earthquake

Clockwise from top left:

* Destroyed building, Muzaffarabad
* Pakistani soldiers unload relief supplies from a U.S. Navy helicopter, Balakot
* U.S. Navy Hospitalman holds an injured three-year-old boy, Shinkiari
* Destroyed building, Nardjan
* U.S. Army helicopter takes off after dropping off emergency aid at Rawalakot Airport, Rawalakot
* A tent village built to house displaced earthquake survivors, Shinkiari

Kabul

Islamabad

Delhi

Lahore

UTC time| 2005-10-08 03:50:40
ISC event| 7703077
USGS-ANSS| ComCat
Local date| 8 October 2005
Local time| 08:50:39 PKT
Duration| 60 seconds
Magnitude| 7.6 Mw[1]
Depth| 15 km (9.3 mi)[1]
Epicenter| 34°27′N 73°39′E﻿ / ﻿34.45°N 73.65°E﻿ / 34.45; 73.65[1]
Type| Oblique-slip
Areas affected| Pakistan, India, Afghanistan
Max. intensity| MMI XI (Extreme) [2]
Landslides| Yes[3]
Aftershocks| 5.9 Mw 8 Oct at 03:57[4]
5.8 Mw 8 Oct at 03:58[5]
6.4 Mw 8 Oct at 10:46[6]
Casualties| 86,000–87,351 dead[7]
69,000–75,266 injured[7]
2.8 million displaced[7]

An earthquake occurred at 08:50:39 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October 2005 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a territory under Pakistan. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It registered a moment magnitude of 7.6 and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The earthquake was also felt in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India and the Xinjiang region. The severity of the damage caused by the earthquake is attributed to severe upthrust. Over 86,000 people died, a similar number were injured, and millions were displaced. It is considered the deadliest earthquake in South Asia, surpassing the 1935 Quetta earthquake.[8]

## Earthquake

[edit]

Map depicting regional tectonic plates

Kashmir lies in the area of collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. The geological activity born out of this collision, also responsible for the birth of the Himalayan mountain range, is the cause of unstable seismicity in the region. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured its magnitude as a minimum of 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale, with its epicenter about 19 km (12 mi) northeast of Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a region under the state of Pakistan and 100 km (62 mi) north-northeast of the national capital Islamabad.

### Intensity

[edit]

USGS Shakemap for the event

The earthquake had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme) evaluated in an area around the epicentre,[2] between the towns of Muzaffarabad and Balakot. It was also assigned XI on the Environmental Seismic Intensity scale. Field surveys of heavy damage to buildings and other structures in Balakot determined that the Modified Mercalli intensity exceeded X. At Muzaffarabad, the intensity peaked at VIII–IX (Severe–Violent). Intensity VII–VIII (Very strong–Severe) was determined in the areas south of Muzaffarabad.[9]

The maximum intensity in Bharat was VIII (Destructive) on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale (MSK), and was felt at Uri. MSK VII was felt in Kupwara and Baramulla. In Srinagar, the earthquake was felt with an MSK intensity of V. At areas where the seismic intensity was lower, collapses were documented.[9] The earthquake was felt throughout central Asia, and as far away as Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Minor shaking was felt in Almaty, Kazakhstan.[10]

### Aftershocks

[edit]

There were many secondary earthquakes in the region, mainly to the northwest of the original epicentre. A series of strong aftershocks occurred near Muzaffarabad.[11] As of 27 October 2005[12] There had been more than 978 aftershocks with a magnitude of 4.0 and above that continued to occur daily. Since then, measurements from satellites have shown that mountain parts directly above the epicenter have risen by a few meters, giving ample proof that the Himalayas are still being formed and growing and that this earthquake was a consequence of that.[13] By the end of 2005, a total of 1,778 aftershocks were recorded. [14]

## Damage and casualties

[edit]

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### Pakistan

[edit]

Muzaffarabad after the earthquake

Most of the devastation hit Azad Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of Northern Pakistan. In AJK, the three main districts were badly affected, and Muzaffarabad, the state capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, was hardest hit in terms of casualties and destruction. Hospitals, schools, and rescue services, including police and armed forces, were paralysed. There was virtually no infrastructure, and communication was badly affected. More than 70% of all casualties were estimated to have occurred in Muzaffarabad. Bagh, the second-most-affected district, accounted for 15% of the total casualties.[citation needed] In Islamabad, the Margalla Towers, an apartment complex in sector F-10, collapsed, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 70 inhabitants.[15] One Egyptian and two Japanese were among the dead there.[16]

The Pakistani government's official death toll as of November 2005 stood at 87,350, although it is estimated that the death toll could have reached over 100,000. Approximately 138,000 people were injured, and over 3.5 million were rendered homeless. According to government figures, 19,000 children died in the earthquake, most of them in the widespread collapse of school buildings. The earthquake affected more than 500,000 families. In addition, approximately 250,000 farm animals died due to the collapse of stone barns, and more than 500,000 large animals required immediate shelter from the harsh winter.[citation needed] About 200 soldiers were also killed in the epicentral area.[16]

As Saturday is a normal school day in the region, most students were at school when the earthquake struck. Many were buried under collapsed school buildings. In Mansehra District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one collapsing school killed 350 students, while another school in the same district killed an additional 50 students.[16] 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. Reports indicate that entire towns and villages were completely wiped out in northern Pakistan, with other surrounding areas also suffering severe damage.[citation needed]

"...A second, massive wave of death will happen if we do not step up our efforts now," Kofi Annan said on October 20, with reference to the thousand remote villages in which people "are in need of medical attention, food, clean water and shelter and the 120,000 survivors that have not yet been reached."[17]

According to Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz "made the appeal to survivors" on 26 October to come down to valleys and cities for relief,[18] because bad weather, mountainous terrain, landslides and blocked roads are making it difficult for relief workers to reach each house and the winter snows are imminent."

### India

[edit]

At least 1,350 people were killed and 6,266 injured in Jammu and Kashmir, India.[19][20][21] In Uri there were over 150 deaths.[16] The tremors were reportedly felt as far away as Delhi and Punjab.

### Afghanistan

[edit]

Four deaths were reported in Afghanistan, including a young girl who died in Jalalabad after a wall collapsed on her. The quake was felt in Kabul, but the effects were minimal there.[22]

## Response

[edit]

Main article: International response to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake

Pakistani soldiers carry tents away from a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter

The national and international humanitarian response to the crisis was extensive. In the initial phases of response, the Pakistan Medical corps, Corps of Engineers, Army Aviation and a large number of infantry units played important roles. Lt. Gen Afzal, Maj. Gen. Imtiaz, and Maj. Gen Javid were the leaders of their formations. Maj. Gen Farrukh Seir was in charge of foreign relief coordination. The relief work in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir was led by IAS officers of the state administration, Bashir Runyal and Jaipal Singh Law. In early 2006, the Government of Pakistan organized a donors' conference to raise money for the reconstruction and development of the area. A total of $6.2 billion was pledged and a large amount of the money was delivered in terms of services of international NGOs with high pay scales. The rest of the money pledged, which was given to the Government of Pakistan for reconstruction and development, was used by a reconstruction authority called Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority.

Well over US$5.4 billion (400 billion Pakistani rupees)[23] in aid arrived from all around the world. US Marine and Army helicopters stationed in neighbouring Afghanistan quickly flew aid into the devastated region along with five CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the Royal Air Force that were deployed from the United Kingdom. Five crossing points were opened on the Line of Control (LOC), between India and Pakistan, to facilitate the flow of humanitarian and medical aid to the affected region, and aid teams from different parts of Pakistan and around the world came to the region to assist in relief efforts.[24][25][26]

## See also

[edit]

* Pakistan portal
* Earth sciences portal

* Meena \- "Life Smiled Again"
* Disaster Management Act, 2005
* October 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake
* 2019 Kashmir earthquake
* List of earthquakes in 2005
* List of earthquakes in Pakistan
* List of earthquakes in India
* List of earthquakes in Afghanistan

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c ISC (2014), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 1.05, International Seismological Centre, archived from the original on 25 November 2016, retrieved 25 March 2015
2. ^ a b Zahid Ali; Muhammad Qaisar; Tariq Mahmood; Muhammad Ali Shah; Talat Iqbal; Leonello Serva; Alessandro M. Michetti; Paul W. Burton (2009). "The Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, earthquake of 8 October 2005: surface faulting, environmental effects and macroseismic intensity". Special Publications. 316 (1). The Geological Society of London: 155–172. Bibcode:2009GSLSP.316..155A. doi:10.1144/SP316.9. S2CID 128469925. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
3. ^ Bulmer, M.; Farquhar, T.; Roshan, M.; Akhtar, S. S.; Wahla, S. K. (2007), "Landslide hazards after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake", EOS, 88 (5): 53–68, Bibcode:2007EOSTr..88...53B, doi:10.1029/2007eo050001, S2CID 140661236
4. ^ USGS. "M5.9 - Pakistan". United States Geological Survey.
5. ^ USGS. "M5.8 - Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
6. ^ USGS. "M6.4 - Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
7. ^ a b c USGS (4 September 2009), PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog (Earthquake ID 20051008035040), Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey, archived from the original on 15 January 2018, retrieved 27 November 2018
8. ^ "The great Quetta tragedy". DAWN Newspaper. 25 October 2005. Archived from the original on 27 October 2005. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
9. ^ a b "First Report on the Kashmir Earthquake of October 8, 2005" (PDF). eeri.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2006.
10. ^ "Today in Earthquake History". Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
11. ^ "Pak in panic as quake rocks Kashmir" Archived 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine Reuters, The Financial Express, 19 October 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2006.
12. ^ "Pakistan: A summary report on Muzaffarabad earthquake" Archived 9 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine ReliefWeb, 7 November 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2006.
13. ^ BBC series: Earth: The Power of the Planet., part 1. Volcano
14. ^ Mahmood, I.; Qureshi, S. N.; Tariq, S.; Atique, L.; Iqbal, M. F. (2015). "Analysis of Landslides Triggered by October 2005, Kashmir Earthquake". PLOS Currents. 7: ecurrents.dis.0bc3ebc5b8adf5c7fe9fd3d702d44a99. doi:10.1371/currents.dis.0bc3ebc5b8adf5c7fe9fd3d702d44a99. PMC 4556441. PMID 26366324.
15. ^ Abbasi, Kashif (21 December 2019). "Only three multi-storey buildings operating with completion certificates". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
16. ^ a b c d "Big quake hits subcontinent; thousands feared dead". Reuters. 8 October 2005. Archived from the original on 13 October 2005. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
17. ^ "Thousands at risk of starving in earthquake aid shortfall" The Times, 21 October 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2006.
18. ^ Qayum, Khalid (26 October 2005), Pakistan Asks Quake Survivors to Leave Mountains Before Winter, Bloomberg News, archived from the original on 6 September 2024, retrieved 4 March 2017
19. ^ "Kashmir earthquake of 2005". October 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
20. ^ "Twenty-two tetanus deaths reported in Pakistan quake zone". The New York Times. 27 October 2005. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
21. ^ "pakistan toll at 38000 is expected to rise". Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
22. ^ "Pakistan puts quake toll at 18,000". CNN. 9 October 2005. Archived from the original on 10 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
23. ^ Amr S. Elnashai (6 November 2006). "The Pakistan Earthquake of October 2005: A Reminder of Human-Science Interaction in Natural Disasters Risk Management". The Illinois International Review. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
24. ^ "Pakistan Asks Quake Survivors to Leave Mountains Before Winter" Archived 6 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine (Bloomberg News), 26 October 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2006.
25. ^ "New figures put quake toll at more than 79,000" Archived 2 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine AP, NBC News, 19 October 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2006.
26. ^ "South Asia Earthquake: Fact Sheet #25 (FY 2006)" Archived 9 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine ReliefWeb, 17 November 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2006.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Pathier, E.; Fielding, E. J.; Wright, T. J.; Walker, R.; Parsons, B. E.; Hensley, S. (2006), "Displacement field and slip distribution of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake from SAR imagery" (PDF), Geophysical Research Letters, 33 (L20310): L20310, Bibcode:2006GeoRL..3320310P, doi:10.1029/2006GL027193

## External links

[edit]

2005 Kashmir earthquake at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Definitions from Wiktionary
* Media from Commons
* News from Wikinews
* Quotations from Wikiquote
* Texts from Wikisource
* Textbooks from Wikibooks
* Resources from Wikiversity

* Television series 'Earthquake Diaries' on the rescue efforts
* The Earthquake and the U.S. Response – Institute for Policy Studies
* When The Earth Moved Kashmir – NASA Earth Observatory
* The Kashmir Earthquake of October 8, 2005: Impacts in Pakistan Archived 26 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine – Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
* The Earthquake of 8 October 2005 in northern Pakistan – George Pararas-Carayannis
* Remembering Oct 8, 2005: The day the earth shook – DAWN
* The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.
* ReliefWeb's main page for this event.

* v
* t
* e

← Earthquakes in 2005 →

February|

* Zarand† (6.4, Feb 22)

March|

* Fukuoka (6.6, Mar 20)
* Nias–Simeulue† (8.6, Mar 28)

June|

* Tarapacá (7.9, Jun 13)

August|

* Miyagi (7.2, Aug 16)

September|

* Peru (7.5, Sep 25)

October|

* Kashmir†‡ (7.6, Oct 8)

November|

* Qeshm (6.0, Nov 27)
* Ruichang (5.2, Nov 28)

December|

* Lake Tanganyika (6.8, Dec 5)
* Hindu Kush (6.5, Dec 12)

† indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths
‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year

* v
* t
* e

Earthquakes in India

Historical|

* 1505 Lo Mustang
* 1555 Kashmir
* 1803 Garhwal
* 1819 Rann of Kutch
* 1833 Kathmandu–Bihar
* 1869 Cachar
* 1881 Nicobar Islands
* 1885 Kashmir
* 1897 Assam

20th century|

* 1905 Kangra
* 1930 Dhubri
* 1934 Nepal–India
* 1935 Quetta
* 1941 Andaman Islands
* 1947 Assam
* 1950 Assam–Tibet
* 1956 Anjar
* 1967 Koynanagar
* 1975 Kinnaur
* 1980 Pithoragarh
* 1984 Cachar
* 1988 Myanmar–India
* 1988 Nepal
* 1991 Uttarkashi
* 1993 Latur
* 1997 Jabalpur
* 1997 Chittagong
* 1999 Chamoli

21st century|

* 2001 Gujarat
* 2004 Indian Ocean
* 2005 Kashmir
* 2009 Andaman Islands
* 2011 Sikkim
* April 2015 Nepal
* May 2015 Nepal
* October 2015 Hindu Kush
* 2016 Imphal
* 2016 Sagaing
* 2016 Magway
* 2017 Tripura
* 2017 Uttarakhand
* 2021 Assam
* 2022 Nepal
* 2023 Badakhshan
* 2023 Nepal

Related topics|

* Earthquake zones of India
* Geology of the Himalaya

* v
* t
* e

Earthquakes in Pakistan

Pre-20th century|

* 1555 Kashmir
* 1885 Kashmir

20th century|

* 1935 Quetta
* 1945 Balochistan
* 1974 Pattan
* 1981 Darel Valley
* 1983 Hindu Kush
* 1991 Hindu Kush
* 1992 Kohat
* 1997 Harnai

21st century|

* 2002 Hindu Kush
* 2005 Kashmir
* 2005 Hindu Kush
* 2008 Ziarat
* 2011 Dalbandin
* 2013 Saravan
* 2013 Laghman
* 2013 Balochistan
* 2014 Pakistan
* 2015 Islamabad
* October 2015 Hindu Kush
* December 2015 Hindu Kush
* 2019 Azad Kashmir
* 2021 Balochistan
* 2022 Durand Line
* March 2023

* v
* t
* e

Himalayan earthquakes

Notable Himalayan quakes|

* 1505 Lo Mustang
* 1555 Kashmir
* 1714 Bhutan
* 1803 Garhwal
* 1833 Kathmandu–Bihar
* 1885 Kashmir
* 1897 Assam
* 1905 Kangra
* 1934 Bihar
* 1947 Assam
* 1950 Assam–Tibet
* 1980 Nepal
* 1988 Myanmar-India
* 1988 Nepal
* 1991 Uttarkashi
* 1999 Chamoli
* 2005 Kashmir
* 2008 Damxung
* 2009 Bhutan
* 2011 Sikkim
* April 2015 Nepal
* May 2015 Nepal
* 2021 Assam
* 2023 Nepal

Plate tectonics|

* Geology of the Himalayas
* Indian Plate
* Eurasian Plate
* Oldham Fault
* Main Frontal Thrust
* Main Himalayan Thrust
* Main Central Thrust
* South Tibetan Detachment
* North Himalayan Normal Fault

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