The Science of the Pakistan Earthquake
There was a 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered in Pakistan on October 8th, 2005 at 8:50am Pakistan time (that's 10:50pm on Friday in Minnesota). The earthquake devastated the region, leaving many villages destroyed and killing thousands in Pakistan and India. It is one of the strongest earthquakes to hit this area in living memory. Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf described the disaster as the country's "worst-ever."
A clash of titans
The earth's continents rest upon large plates of rock that are slowly moving around the surface of the earth. For millions of years, the Indian subcontinent has been slowly moving north towards Europe and Asia (Eurasia). About 40-50 million years ago (mya), India slammed into Eurasia. Because both India and Eurasia were continents the Eurasia crust crumpled upwards, creating the Himalayan mountains. The leading edge of India was eventually forced underneath the continent in a process geologists call subduction. This movement is still happening today. However, as India continues to move slowly north, it gets hung up and energy builds. When enough energy builds up, there are short bursts of movement, releasing this massive energy and shaking and buckling the ground in what we call an earthquake.
Past disasters
In the last hundred years, several other earthquakes of similar strength have struck this region:
- 2001 - 11,500 people killed - 7.6 magnitude quake struck Indian city of Gujarat
- 1991 - 700 people killed - 6.7 magnitude quake struck in the remote Hindukush mountains of Afghanistan
- 1935 - 35,000 people killed - 7.6 magnitude quake struck Quetta in the Baluchistan province (now western Pakistan)
- 1905 - 20,000 people killed - 7.9 magnitude quake struck Kangra, in northern India
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Flickr has some pictures of collapsed buildings in Pakistan and the rescue efforts.
BBC has cool interactive features about earthquakes.
Want to know more about the Richter scale and what earthquake magnitudes mean?
Here are stories from earthquake survivors.
This earthquake is a disaster, at a magnitude of 7.6 it was the largest quake Pakistan has had in 20years. The earthquakes epicentre is in Pakistan and the focus ias 9miles(15km) deep. So far 50,000 are known to be dead.
There was also a major earthquake in 1975 in Pattan (Pakistan) 150Kms away from this earthquake, which also took 5000 lives.
It is said that the tectonic plates are rubbing and creating a negligible tremor every 8 minutes or so. The mountains are pinnacles and the rubble, dust, boulders, and stones are always coming down in this area. There is continuous geological activity going on in this region of Pakistan.
This phenomena has also made people to think about the height of Mount Everest and Mount K2. Some say K2 is rising 4CM every year and some say both are.
The mountains of this region are spectacular; however, this very fact of tectonic plates rubbing each other can be seen in the landslides which come on the Karakorum Highway (a road built along the Indus River) every now and then.
The present earthquake came in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, which very green and less active. But, as it is, energy can develop anywhere and this time it was the turn of the people of this region.
Jamal
What are the Structural feature associated with Pakistan earthquake. Please tell me their breif discription
We are facing Pakistan history's worst disaster. It was a nightmare, so dreadful, horrible and unforgettable. At this time of misery, grief and loss of MILLION'S OF HUMAN BEINGS (not in hundreds or thousands) we must appreciate and thankful to the WORLD (Britain's, Americans, Turkish, German etc), who are working with PAKISTANI people (like their own people, helped us using all means, resources and financial support.
OUR BEST AND EVERLASTING WISHES TO ALL THE WORLD, I don't have the words, how to express thanks.
Hiya yal! just wana say peace out 2 all dose dye'in an 'urt peaps. May da lord 'elp u true dis terrible time.
Peace!
The recent earthquake in Pkaistan has rendered millions homeless, beisdes some 40,000 dead. Thoush relief operations are in full swings, Pakistan needs two things very urgently: 1) Tents, and 2) helicopters to drop these tents to isolated razed to ground villages on hill tops, some now receiving snow fall. There are no roads to these small hamlets. After the shock of their dead ones, the survivors are facing death themselves. World community must come forward and donate as much tents as possible (to house at least 3 million homeless) and helicopters. Please come forward and save people who may not live long.
May God (Allah) give peace to all that died and are affected with the Earth Quake.\r\n\r\nBetter would be to know why there are regular shocks. and I think that is something unusual as there were more than 100 after shocks. Experts say that those aftershocks are good signs as most of the energy will be released after that. However there would be a big geological change and funny; as may be our continent might be somewhere close to Africa
Awaiting the big one:
10 October New Scientist article
Plate tectonics map
Two strong aftershocks shook already devastated areas of Kashmir on Wednesday. (The first 5.8-magnitude aftershock struck 80 miles north of Islamabad, near the epicenter of the main quake. It was followed, 45 minutes later, by another in the same area that registered 5.6.)
People in the area have actually experienced hundreds, of aftershocks. Waverly Pearson, a seismologist at the U.S. quake center, told the Associated Press:
Regional officials now estimate the death toll (between October 8th and today) at 79,000, with many people still in urgent need of medical care and about three million homeless. By comparison, last year's deadly quake and tsunami killed more that 174,000 people and left another 106,000 missing.
Relief workers are struggling to aid survivors, but it's a race against time as winter weather closes in.
CNN has a special "South Asia Earthquake" section on its website.
we all should pray for pakistan , may ALLAH ALMIGHTY SAVE THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN.
Associated Press reporter Robert Tanner is in Pakistan, covering the aftermath of the earthquake. He posts stories to a blog every day.
this is a time of an exam and it is our respontibility to hlep those who are suffering from this painful time we should all get through this time as fast as we can may God help those people never stop praying for them
This is very tuff time for pakistan... No one can imagine that this can happen with Pakistan... Its time to apologize whatever we done in the past... I think this is all happened because of our "Aamaal" ... we are muslims but only by name and not reacting like a musilmaan. "Allah Hum Sub ko Naik Hadaiyat Day. Ameen"
Thanks
khuda Hafiz
Earthquakes -- like hurricanes and tsunamis -- are natural occurances. The Earth is not responding to our moral failings. However, it is an opportunity for people of all faiths to show our better selves, to come together and help out our brothers and sisters in need.
This page has helped me alot with my homework so thanks and i reckon we should get more people out there to help because people need our help.
it was 7.8 magnitude
Pray for the people effected by the pakistan earthquake. I am doing a homework on the earthquake and this page has helped me alot. I pray for everyone to be safe.
good luck to all those in pakistan
Do you say what date the earthquake started & finished?
It is very very tuff for pakistan and we've had a enough of it.
It seems that Pakistan is in a lot of environmental issues nowadays, with the nature itself turning against the nation. In some parts, the earthquake have done major damage but the loss of life is very less. Thank god for that!
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