8 october earthquake in pakistan

Introduction

A massive earthquake struck Pakistan and parts of India and Afghanistan on Saturday morning October 8, 2005. This was the strongest earthquake in the area during the last hundred years.

This earthquake was by far the most destructive disaster in the region. Current reports indicate that close to 80,000 people were killed and at least 50,000 more were injured in the northern areas of Pakistan, in the Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, in the Indian-controlled Kashmir (known as Jammu-Kashmir), and in Northern India. Thousands of houses were destroyed.

Pakistani Kashmir's main city, Muzaffarabad, was severely affected with almost half of its homes destroyed. Indian Kashmir was also severely damaged with hundreds of dead and injured, mostly in the town of Uri.

There were numerous deaths also in major Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. A 10-story residential building (known as the Margalla Tower) collapsed completely in Islamabad killing most of the occupants. The death toll is expected to rise significantly as reports from remote areas filter in.