Pakistan Earthquake, 2005

On 8 October 2005, at 08:50:39 PKT, a Mw 7.6 earthquake struck the Azad Kashmir region in northern Pakistan. Its epicenter was located in the tehsil of Patikka, near the city of Muzaffarabad. It caused catastrophic damage and tens of thousands of fatalities across Azad Kashmir and northwestern Jammu and Kashmir, India. At least 87,350 people were killed and 200,000 were injured in Pakistan, with an additional 1,360 deaths and 7,082 injuries in India and 4 deaths in eastern Afghanistan. Among the fatalities were 26,000 killed by landslides, 19,000 students and teachers killed by collapsing schools, and 317 Pakistani and Indian military personnel. Muzaffarabad, Balakot, Bagh and Battagram were the worst-affected areas in Pakistan; all 4,000 inhabitants in the destroyed village of Jabri Kailash died. Severe damage also occurred in Kupwara and Baramulla districts in India, with the tehsil of Karnah almost completely destroyed. More than 856,400 buildings and houses were severely damaged or destroyed in Pakistan and India, with buildings collapsing as far away as Lahore. More than 3.5 million people were displaced, resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis for the region.