Kashmir Earthquake 8th October 2005

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Kashmir Earthquake8th October 2005
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This is another major natural disaster following
on from the Tsunami at Christmas 2004 and
Hurricane Katrina in August 2005
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• The 7.6-magnitude earthquake took place on
  Saturday 8th October at 0925 local time.
• The epicentre was Muzzaffarabad the capital of
  the Pakistan administered region of Kashmir, 80km
  north-east of Islamabad.

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• It is thought to be the strongest earthquake
  to hit the region in a century.
• It was followed by 20 powerful aftershocks
• Many villages have been wiped off the face
  of the earth President Musharraf

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A destroyed military building in Kuri
http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/432578
4.stm
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The effects of the earthquake were felt as far
away as Lahore
BBC news http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_a
sia/4321490.stmmap
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Effects of the earthquake

• An entire generation of young people has been
  wiped out in the areas worst hit
• Children have been the biggest number of
  casualties as many had just started lessons when
  the earthquake struck and were killed when their
  schools collapsed.
• Children made up half the population of the
  affected area and were particularly vulnerable,
  UNICEF has said.

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We slept in the open fields last night. There
were no tents, no food everything is gone. We all
rushed out only to see our house going down in
front of our own eyes. 13 year old pupil

• The children and other survivors will be
  vulnerable to hunger,cold illness and trauma.

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Aerial photograph of the total devastation

• "All official buildings have collapsed"
• Landslides have blocked all access roads to
  Muzaffarabad, where there is no electricity and
  telephones.

http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/432300
8.stm
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• In Balakot, where two schools collapsed,
  relatives were frantically digging with bare
  hands for the several hundred children trapped
  inside.

http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/432300
8.stm
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Aid needed

• President Musharraf appealed for
• tents, medicines, money and helicopters - the
  bigger the better
• Why would these items be required ?

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Offers of aid

• Foreign NGOs e.g. Oxfam, UNICEF,
  International Red Cross
• Foreign governments e.g. U.K, Malaysia

http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/432149
0.stm
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• By Sunday some foreign rescue teams had arrived.
• Members of the International Rescue Corps, have
  used life-detecting sensors to locate a
  thirteen-year-old boy from under the rubble.
• With thousands already dead, many in Kashmir have
  been highly critical of the government's relief
  efforts and say it's too little, too late.

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Rescue teams

• The international rescue teams are working with
  specialised equipment such as CO2 sniffers and
  snake-eye cameras to move through the building.
• They have special listening equipment and
  specially trained dogs to help them too.

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• The once-thriving town of Balakot has
  suffered extensive damage.
• The toll is expected to rise to about 8,000.
  70 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of
  the collapsed schools, but as many as 650
  children may have been buried in the rubble.
  About 200 soldiers are also thought to have been
  killed by landslides and falling debris.
• The death toll continues to rise.

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How did the earthquake occur

• The earthquake in Pakistan is the result of
  India's long-term, gradual, geological movement
  north into Asia at a speed of five centimetres a
  year - a millimetre per week.

http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/432258
2.stm
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Earthquake animation

• http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4126809.stm

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Interactive maps and links

• http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/432262
  4.stm
• http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/432711
  6.stm

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• The total death toll in the region is
  thought to be over 20,000
• (10th October)
• Many are missing feared dead. Many people
  in the U.K. have relatives in this area. They are
  desperately trying to get news of their families.

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What can we do ?