2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan (Central Asia)
Islamabad, 8 Oct 2005: A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit the Pakistan-administered Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad, at 08:52:37 local time, killed 80,000+ people, injured 106,000 more and destroyed about 3 million homes. The severity of the damage caused by the earthquake is attributed to severe upthrust, coupled with poor construction. Believed to be the 12th or 14th most destructive earthquake of the recorded history, it is estimated that damages incurred are well over US$ 5 billion .
Date : 8 October, 2005
Magnitude : 7.6 Mw
Depth : 26 km
Epicenter location : 19 km northeast of Muzaffarabad
Countries or regions affected : Pakistan, India, Afghanistan
Casualties : 80,000 dead , 106,000+ injured
Kashmir sits atop the boundary of two colliding tectonic plates: the small Indian plate that underlies most of India and Pakistan, including much of Kashmir; and the vast Eurasian plate that underlies Europe, China, Russia, and much of the Middle East. The geological activity born out of this collision, also responsible for the birth of the Himalayan mountain range, created one of the planet's most active earthquake hotspots. As the plates collide, stress builds up in the fault zones where the plates meet.
Sudden and rapid releases of seismic stress caused this major earthquake. An abrupt movement along a shallow fault ruptured the surface. Two towns that straddled the newly exposed fault suffered the most damage: Muzaffarabad and Balakot. In addition, the earthquake generated massive landslides that buried entire towns. The earthquake caused widespread destruction in northern Pakistan, as well as damage in Afghanistan and northern India. It also affected some parts of the Pakistani province of Punjab, the capital city of Islamabad, and the city of Karachi. Since then, measures from satellites have shown, that mountain parts directly above the epicenter have risen by a few meters, giving ample proof, that the rising of the Himalayas are still going on, and that this earthquake was a consequence of that.
As Saturday was 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 earthquake.
The Pakistan government was slow to respond, Pakistanis were aghast that soldiers did not come immediately to their rescue; it took days before the army would reach any stricken areas beyond the towns. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz "made the appeal to survivors" on 26 October to come down to valleys and cities for relief, 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."
Reflections
I think that preparation (both technology and ethics) is most needed to minimize damage in the wake of major earthquakes :
-Construct buildings that can withstand earthquake using reinforced concrete and deep foundations and train the people to built the structures.
-Apply ethics that can stabilize governments, strengthen economies, educate and raise more people out of poverty.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Kashmir_earthquake
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/earthquake_kashmir/index.html
http://nasadaacs.eos.nasa.gov/articles/2008/2008_earthquakes.html
- When the Earth moved Kashmir by Laura Naranjo 20 May 2008
http://cires.colorado.edu/~bilham/Kashmir%202005.htm
http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-india_pakistan/jihadi_2941.jsp
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/treder20100227/
- A Tale of Two Earthquakes by Mike Treder 27 Feb 2010
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/02/03/cross.quake.resistant.housing/
- CNN Opinion 3 Feb 2010
