|
A
major earthquake struck the India-Pakistan
border on the morning of 8 October 2005. It had a magnitude of
Mw=7.6 and was felt
strongly in much of Pakistan,
northern India and eastern Afghanistan. The earthquake resulted at
least 74,661 deaths in northern
Pakistan and adjoining parts of Afghanistan and India and is by
far one of the deadliest in the sub-continent. Tremors from the earthquake were felt more
than a thousand kilometres away in the Indian states of Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. This
earthquake is often also referred to as the "Pakistan Earthquake",
the "South Asia Earthquake", the Kashmir Earthquake" or the "Muzaffarabad
Earthquake". This is one of the strongest earthquakes in
this general area since a Mw=7.6 in
1555.
The earthquake
was centred
4.1 kms SE of Ghori (Pir Panjal
Mountains), Kashmir Himalayas,
10.4 kms NE of Muzaffarabad (Pir Panjal
Mountains), Kashmir Himalayas,
30.3 kms W of Tangdhar (Jammu & Kashmir), India,
60.4 kms NW of Uri (Jammu & Kashmir), India,
90.2 kms NNE of Islamabad (F.C.A.), Pakistan,
122 kms NW of Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), India,
328 kms NNW of Allama Iqbal International
Airport, Lahore (Punjab), Pakistan,
512 kms NNE of Multan (Punjab), Pakistan,
740 kms NW of Indira Gandhi International
Airport, Delhi (N.C.R.), India,
Fatalities & Injuries
|
Damage & Felt Effects
|
Aftershocks
|
Seiches & other phenomenon
Fatalities
According to
figures released by the NDMA in Islamabad, there were 73,338
fatalities in northern Pakistan along with 1,28,309 injuries.
The greatest number of casualties were in Muzaffarabad district
where 34,173 fatalities occurred. According
to figures released by the NDMA in
Delhi, there were 1,309 deaths in Jammu & Kashmir while another 6,622 were
injured. Most of the deaths occurred in Srinagar division which
recorded 1,190 fatalities. 10 fatalities were reported
in north India and several people were injured; in
Punjab, 2 people including a small child were killed in wall
collapses at Batala and at Dera Baba Nayak respectively. An elderly
person died after a minor fall at Firozpur while 6 persons were
injured in wall collapses in the same town. Some students were
injured in stampedes at Ludhiana. Several persons were injured in
Ludhiana including one woman who fell down a staircase. Two people
were injured in Amritsar in a wall collapse at Ghee Mandi. In
Himachal Pradesh, a student was seriously injured after falling down
a staircase at Golad. In Haryana, three people died of cardiac
arrest at Panchkula while another person died after being
electrocuted at Sadaura. Two injuries were reported from Fatehabad
and Kaithal respectively. Two people were killed in Delhi after
being hit by falling debris. In Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), one person was killed
and two were injured when a mound of mud collapsed upon them at Bairagiwala village, Vikasnagar in Dehradun. In Rajasthan, one
person suffered minor injuries at Mankheda. In Uttar Pradesh, one
person repairing the loud speaker on the top of a mosque fell and
was seriously injured at Saharanpur while an infant was slightly
hurt at Berki. Some school students slightly injured in a rush to
leave their classrooms at Banda, Bareilly, Bijnour, Chandinagar and
Meerut. Press reports also spoke of one person being injured after
falling into a tube well near Sardhana. Two persons were injured
after falling off a motorbike in Haldaun when the driver felt giddy
during the tremor and two persons were also injured at Naugawa near
Rampur.
Landslides triggered by aftershocks killed 1
person in Jammu & Kashmir on 15 October and 6 persons near Balakot
on 17 October.
Top of Page
Damage & Felt Effects
In
Pakistan controlled regions of the
epicentral tract, a large number of the
deaths occurred in Jhelum and Neelum Valleys. The
town of Muzaffarabad lost an estimated 80%
of its buildings. The nearby town of
Balakot was completely destroyed along with several mountain
villages. The towns of Bagh and Rawalakot close to the Line of
Control (LoC) also suffered extensive damage. Major landslides and
rock falls buried some mountain villages and wiped out roads in the
region. Near Muzaffarabad, a large landslide in the Neelam valley
dammed the river of the same name. Landslides also temporarily
blocked the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Highway while the Aman Setu on the
LoC suffered some damage. Landslides were also reported in the
Hazara region including at Astore, Gilgit and Skardu where the
earthquake was felt. Tremors were felt across much of northern
Pakistan for several minutes. In the cities of Islamabad and
Rawalpindi, violent shocks sent most people rushing outdoors. In
Islamabad, one wing of the 10-storey Margalla Towers collapsed
killed many people. Elsewhere in the city
people found it difficult to stand and those outdoors in cars found
it difficult to steer. In Rawalpindi, many buildings were damaged
and some deaths were reported when school buildings collapsed.
Damage, including wall & roof collapses were reported from Daska,
Gujjar Khan, Gujrat City, Gurjanwala, Jhelum, Hafizabad, Murree,
Mandi Bahaudin, Sialkot and Taxila in northern Pakistan. In the city
of Lahore, some buildings collapsed and resulted in 2 deaths. Many
buildings in the city including the Museum
developed cracks. Damage to buildings was also reported from as far
as Bhakkar, Leiah and Taunsa Sharif. Strong tremors were
felt at Bannu, Chakwal, Faisalabad, Jhang,
Multan, Sargodha, Sheikhpura and Peshawar. The earthquake was felt
as far as Quetta in Balochistan and at Rahimyar Khan in the southern
part of the Punjab province.
In India, the greatest
damage occurred along the LoC near Uri in the
Neelum/Kishanganga Valley. Villages like Tangdhar were
heavily damaged and landslides cut off the region from the rest of
the state for several days. The main town of Uri suffered extensive
damage from the earthquake and from a fire that broke out shortly
afterwards destroying the main market. Near Uri, a landslide swept
away a passenger bus into a gorge. Sand vents were reported in the
western part of the Kashmir Valley. Several historical mosques
including the shrines at Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani at Charar-e
Sharif and Hazratbal & Jamia Masjid in Srinagar developed cracks.
Severe shaking was experienced at Srinagar where many people found
it difficult to stand or move during the mainshock. Many buildings
were damaged in the city. The television tower at Shankaracharya was
also damaged. Elsewhere, buildings suffered various grades of damage
in Anantnag, Baramulla, Jammu, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, Riasi and
Udhampur. The earthquake was strongly felt at the Vaishno Devi
shrine but no damage was reported from here. Bunkers along the LoC
were destroyed during the quake claiming the lives of many defence
personnel.
Elsewhere in north India, in the state of Punjab, some
buildings were seriously damaged & collapsed at Amritsar, especially
at Sattowala Bazaar while a 100-year old chimney fell at the
Dayalbagh Spinning Mills. A fire broke out at a computer store due
to a short circuit in the Lawrence Market area of the city. Damage
was reported from Batala, Dasuya, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Paghwara
while buildings developed cracks at Bholath, Kapurthala, Sultanpur
Lodhi. In Himachal Pradesh, buildings developed cracks at Mandi,
Shimla, Sundernagar and Una. Isolated incidents of wall collapses
were also reported from places such as Shimla. Landslides and rock
falls were also reported from some mountainous reaches of the state.
In Haryana, minor damage occurred at
Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Jind, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Bhavanigarh and
Panchkula. A lamp was knocked over in a temple at Kalait resulting
in a small fire. Residents of high-rise buildings in Gurgaon rushed
outdoors where several high-rise buildings, including Hamilton Court
developed cracks. In Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), strong shocks were felt at Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar & Roorkee. Very minor damage reported was also
reported from Narendranagar. Residents of Dehradun & Roorkee saw
trees and telephone poles shaking. Tremors were reportedly stronger
in the Gharwal region as compared to the Kumaon region. The quake
was felt in most northern & central districts while minor damage was
reported from Alwar, Bandikui, Jaipur & Hanumangarh. In Uttar
Pradesh, damage was reported from Bagpat, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Meerut
and Sardhana. At Babawali near Laksar the railway line is
alleged to have been slightly damaged and
trains were run at reduced speeds for some time. A transformer also
caught fire at Saharanpur. Two trees were reportedly uprooted on the
banks of the Bhakra River near Bilaspur (Rampur district). Residents
of high-rise buildings in Ahmedabad, Godhra & Vadodara in Gujarat,
Bhopal, Indore & Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and Kanpur & Lucknow in
Uttar Pradesh felt mild tremors.
Tremors were also felt
in Kabul, Afghanistan and in parts of Central Asia. At Kabul
airport, aircraft were seen rocking to and fro during the quake. At
least one person was killed in a wall collapse in eastern
Afghanistan. Tremors were also felt at Jalalabad and as far as Mazar-e
Sharif. It was also reportedly strongly felt in the provinces of
Badakhshan and Takkhar but no damage has been reported from here. In
Tajikistan, it was felt at Dushanbe and Khorog.
Top of Page
Aftershocks
Several powerful earthquakes shook the
region included a large event at 10:46 UTC that was widely felt in
northern Pakistan and north India. Several aftershocks have been
strong enough to cause panic as far as Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Another M5.1 aftershock on 15 October left 1 person dead, 3 injured
and another missing & presumed dead in the Uri sector of Jammu &
Kashmir. A M5.6 aftershock on 19 October was felt as far as Peshawar
and in parts of north India.
Top of Page
Seiches & other phenomenon
Seismic seiches were observed
at Pehowa in Haryana,
at Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, at Kharagpur in West Bengal,
at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and at numerous locations
throughout Bangladesh. Remote aquifer response was reported from
Kota in Rajasthan. During the earthquake large waves were seen in
the reservoir of the Mangla Dam. Neither the Mangla or the Tarbela
dams suffered any damage during the earthquake. Waves were also seen
in the Guru Gobindsagar Reservoir in Himachal Pradesh while at the
Anandpur Sahib & Nangal Hydel canals in Punjab, water splashed
2-feet into the air.
Top of Page
|
