Essay on CS Earthquake Kashmir

Submitted By MeeraJay
Words: 506
Pages: 3

LEDC – KASHMIR, PAKISTAN 2005

Location:
8th October 2005
8:50am
Magnitude: 7.6 Richter Scale
Depth of focus: 26km
Epicentre: 105km north of Islamabad in the foothills of the Himalayas
Pakistan lied on the direct fault line of South Asia, the Middle Eastern Iranian plate and the Eurasian plate in the north

Exposure:
Earthquake was a high magnitude and a major tectonic event
Mountainous region  unstable slopes
Nearly 15 million people live in the affected area, where over the past 50 years, rapid population growth has placed more people at risk

Cause:
Collision of Indian and Eurasian Plates  continental convergent boundary
Compression caused low angles thrust faults
Measurements from satellites have shown that mountain parts directly above the epicentre have risen by a few meters  evidence that Himalayas are rising
Movement along a thrust fault triggered the earthquake
Northern Pakistan and India are highly active seismic zones

Hazards:
Primary: violent shaking caused by seismic waves
Secondary: landslides blocked rivers and threatened flooding – seiche (sloshing of a closed body of water from earthquake shaking)

Vulnerability:
87% population live in rural area, many live in isolated villages in the Jhelum and Neelum valleys  difficult access for emergency relief unless by helicopter
People living above the winter snowline were vulnerable
Poverty is widespread – 30% pop live below the poverty line  the ability of poor people to help themselves and recover from the impact is limited

Preparation:
Little preparedness and planning for disaster relief
Poor construction and engineering were blamed for most deaths
Few buildings were earthquake-proof
Buildings in the countryside were made of stone and cement blocks laid in weak sand or mud mortar
Others were dry stone or made from rounded cobbles sourced from local rivers

Impacts:
87,000 people died – SOCIAL, S.T
3.2 million homeless – SOCIAL, S.T
Most deaths due to collapsed buildings made out of solid block concrete and poor quality concrete and mortar, weak connection at corners and thin walls – ENVIRONMENTAL L.T
Thousands were cut off for days