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A moderate
earthquake struck the
Alai and Kaghan Valleys in the NWFP on 14 February 2004
at 15:30 PM
causing some damage
to property and 24 deaths. The
earthquake had a magnitude of Mw=5.5
and followed at 16:56 PM local time by a Mw=5.4 event.
The earthquake
was centred 32.4 kms W of
Sirsanai (N.W.F.P.), Pakistan,
10.4 kms WNW of Mingaora (N.W.F.P.), Pakistan,
36.0 kms NE of Bhat Khela (N.W.F.P.), Pakistan,
71.7 kms NNE of Mardan (N.W.F.P.), Pakistan,
101 kms NW of Manshera (N.W.F.P.), Pakistan,
145 kms NW of Islamabad (N.C.T.), Pakistan,
249 kms WNW of Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), India.
At least 24
people were killed and nearly 40 injured in this earthquake and
another that followed within 90 minutes of the first quake.
The worst incident was the deaths of 13 passengers of a pickup
truck that was crushed by a falling boulder near Gantar village in
the Alai Valley. Other reports said the truck was thrown into a
ravine by a rock fall. 2 deaths were
reported from the Alai Valley, both due to a wall collapses.
In the Balakot area, 4 children were killed. A government hospital
was damaged at Kawai. More than 100 houses collapsed in the Kaghan
Valley, 75 in Hangrai, 20 in Paras Bela and 5 in village of Jigan.
In Paras Bela, one of the worst affected areas where 86 houses
were destroyed and 145 partially damaged, hundreds of people were
staying outdoors in freezing conditions. In other areas of same
valley, five houses were destroyed and 200 partially damaged.
Landslides had blocked the Kaghan Road from Jaraid onwards. The
road at Paras Bela was also cracked. In the Manshera area, a
roof collapse left one person dead at Jabori village. 100
buildings collapsed in the same village including the minaret of a
mosque. 70% of the houses were partially damaged at Tangai whereas
6 completely collapsed.
The road from Mansehra
to Khanian was cracked and mudslides tumbled onto the shoulders.
Other adjoining areas including Dadar, Sachan, Baffa and Shinkiari
were also affected. In the Knosh Valley, 4 people were killed.
Three died in a roof collapse at Manda Gucha and at Shungra and
one in a rockfall at Keehal. At Battal, 7 houses were destroyed
and 53 damaged. Landslides and heavy snowfall blocked roads into
the mountainous region and hampered rescue and relief for
sometime.
Tremors from the first
earthquake at 15:30 local time were felt at Abbottabad, Chitral,
Haripur, Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Sawat.
Residents of Islamabad ran outdoors when the earthquake struck.
Tremors were also reported from northern parts of the Punjab
province. In adjoining parts of India, it was felt at Srinagar and
Gulmarg, where residents ran outdoors as doors and windows
rattled. An strong aftershock was felt
90-minutes later. This was centred 11.1
kms NNE of Hill (N.W.F.P.), Pakistan and
was felt at Islamabad. |
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References
01)
National
Earthquake Information Centre (NEIC), Golden, USA.
02)
Harvard Centroid Moment Tensor Solution (HRV), Harvard, USA.
03)
Macroseismic information has been compiled by
the ASC from reports by local media and local NGO personnel.
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