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October 8, 2005 at 8:14 pm #20254neo_ny_23Member
Today morning I woke up to a phone call about the massive earth-quake in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.
Darkness has fallen in the three Asian countries convulsed by a catastrophic earthquake on Saturday, hampering the search for survivors. The magnitude 7.6 quake, which was followed by strong aftershocks, is feared to have caused thousands of deaths in Pakistan; India; the disputed territory of Kashmir, and Afghanistan.
The confirmed death toll stands at 1,337.
The quake hit Saturday at 8:50 a.m. local time (11:50 p.m. ET Friday). The epicenter was about 60 miles north-northeast of Islamabad.
Effects of the quake, the most intense in the region in a century, were felt hundreds of miles away.
Remote towns and major cities, such as Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad, India’s capital of New Delhi and the Pakistani city of Lahore, were shaken.
Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz “expressed their profound grief over the tragic loss of life and damage to property as a result of the quake,” according to a statement issued by the government.
The death toll in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir now stands at 1,080, authorities say.
That includes 520 in North-West Frontier province, 310 in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, and 50 in the Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Also, 200 Pakistani soldiers were killed in Kashmir and northern areas of Pakistan, and 300 others were injured, the country’s military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told CNN.
The figures come from police, the Interior Ministry and hospitals.
In Indian-controlled Kashmir, at least 256 people were dead. Officials estimated some 500 homes in the region had been destroyed.
In New Delhi, some 406 miles from Islamabad, buildings swayed and furniture moved, causing people to panic and rush into the streets. The Indian government activated its national disaster plan.
Indian controls the Jammu-Kashmir state of India and Pakistan controls Azad Kashmir. The disputed territory is separated by a territorial border called the Line of Control. Damage and casualties were also reported in remote northeast Afghanistan.
Technical Sgt. Marina Evans, speaking for the U.S.-led coalition forces in Kabul, said the earthquake was felt in the Afghan capital of Kabul “but the effects were minimal.”
“At this time, we have not received any requests to assist in the earthquake recovery efforts,” she said.
Many people were still in their beds at the time of the quake. Witness Malik Abdul Manan said he and his family “woke up and ran out. The shocks went on for a long time.” (Survivors describe shock awakening)
“This was the strongest earthquake in the area during the last hundred years,” Qamar Uz Zaman, director-general of the Pakistani Meteorological Department, told CNN.
A series of aftershocks, including one of 6.3 magnitude and four at more than 5.4, renewed panic. In Indian-controlled Kashmir, many people refused to return indoors.
Frantic efforts to rescue survivors were under way in Islamabad. Video footage from Pakistani television showed crowds of people climbing on the rubble of an apartment building and attempting to free those trapped under large concrete slabs. Some of the injured were carried away on stretchers.
Musharraf and Aziz reviewed rescue and relief operations at the collapsed apartment building — the 10-story residential Margalla Tower.
About 70 to 80 people were trapped in the rubble, the government said.
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and senior military and civilian officials, were overseeing the operations and briefed the leaders.
The government said Pakistan Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Civil Administration and Capital Development Authority took part in the operations.
“The reaction has been very fast, people reached the site shortly after the earthquake and responded efficiently and I think they are following a right strategy,” Musharraf said, according to a government statement.
City officials are trying to obtain heavy earth and rubble moving machinery from the private sector to help rescue the trapped people.
Landslides follow quake
The quake also triggered landslides, resulting in the closure of some highways, officials said.
The quake was “quite shallow,” said David Applegate, senior science advisor for earthquake and geologic hazards for the U.S. Geological Survey. “That means the shaking is going to be very intense.”
The fact that Islamabad was near the epicenter “means a fairly large urban population has experienced some strong shaking,” Applegate said.
The National Earthquake Information Center put the quake at 7.6 magnitude, which it considers “major.” The Pakistani Meteorological Department put the magnitude at 7.5, and Japan’s Meteorological Agency put it at 7.8.
In February 2004, a pair of earthquakes registering 5.5 and 5.4 magnitude, respectively, killed at least 21 people and injured dozens more and destroyed hundreds of homes built of mud, stone and timber in a rugged, mountainous area about 90 miles northwest of Islamabad.
In January 2001, some 30,000 people died in a magnitude 7.7 quake in western India.
(Source: CNN)
Aqeel and Hasan – I hope you and all your family and friends are all fine and safe. We are all with you.
October 9, 2005 at 4:55 am #131520HasanMemberIts just depressing that the death toll has raised upto 14,000 in Pakistan.
There are schools under which children are trapped since yesterday morning but we dont have the resources to get them out yet.
There are people burried alive under collapsed tower and we’re still working on taking them out using two crains in all.
God bless us all.
Me and my family are fine. We are having repeated aftershocks, electricity load shedding (Blackout) and now my phone line is dead.
There is no word from Aqeel yet. I hope he is fine too.October 9, 2005 at 5:58 am #131523gossipingraeMemberYeah that is really scary. It makes me think again what MiamiGuy said about Hurricanes Katrina and Rita…almost seems like the end of the world.
I am taking a class this semester on natural hazards and disasters. I’m sure this will be the topic of discussion, since we are on the volcanoes/earthquakes chapter.
I pray for your country people.
October 9, 2005 at 9:20 am #131524AqeelParticipantThanks Neo, Hasan & gossipingrae. Me and my family are fine but we haven’t heard any word from our father still now, he is at his job in Faislabad and mostly he will have to travel between Faisalabad & Islamabad. There is also no news still now from our village as the telephonry structure is damged.
Our home phone was not working but now it’s Ok.
Hope so we will soon get intouch with my Father and cousins in our village.
At the moment death toll raised to 18000 only in Pakistan I don’t know what about the other neighboring countries.October 9, 2005 at 12:31 pm #131528MrOatsMemberI just heard about this on the morning news. Aqeel, thank god you are okay, I was very worried about you and Hasan. I hope that your father and cousins are fine and you can contact them soon. God bless.
October 9, 2005 at 1:26 pm #131518Jeff HesterKeymasterI’m glad to hear you both are doing well. Everyone over there will be in my prayers.
October 9, 2005 at 2:09 pm #131525AqeelParticipantThanks MiamiGuy & MrOats 🙂 for remembring us in your prayers. Actually I was really worried about Hasan when I heard this news as he is in Islamabad the capital, which is also highly effected by the earthquake.
Our family at village is fine, I have a conversation with them just a few minutes ago. The news from father’s office is that they are on their field work outside the city. He too INSHALLAH (Arabic: With the grace of GOD) will be fine.October 9, 2005 at 2:20 pm #131519OreoMemberI am so relieved to hear both of you are relatively OK. My thoughts and prayers are with both you and all of those countries in this time of great sorrow and confusion. As hard as it is, try to stay positive, those positive thoughts are what will bring your country back around and help you recover from this great tragedy.
October 9, 2005 at 2:35 pm #131521HasanMemberThankyou all of you for your concern and prayers.
We’re thankful to the Rescue teams from UK and Turkey as well who are helping us out in saving the people trapped under the wreckage.
By the grace of God all my friends and family are fine.
May the souls of decedents rest in peace and the injured get well soon.October 9, 2005 at 2:49 pm #131526AqeelParticipantIt is really very terrible, I have read many eye witness stories online and heard from a few friends also.
There is an announcement in our area by the local government to sleep in open tonight/do not sleep in rooms or buildings. The earth plates will now move back producing more quakes. 20 have been counted still today.Really very thanks for all the countries helping us. There are rescue teams from UK, China, Japan, Russia, Turkey and other countries. I would like to say special thanks to them.
October 9, 2005 at 7:54 pm #131522sarahtownyMemberI have been watching the news tonight, such terrible news.
I breathed a sigh of relief that you are both ok, I dearly hope your families and friends are also safe. But my heart goes out to all those families that are so badly affected. Words cannot express how terrible I felt seeing the pictures on the news. Keep us informed boys, kept safe and I will certainly be thinking of you.
October 10, 2005 at 7:25 am #131527AqeelParticipantWe are fine but our hearts are crying, last night our whole family slept out door, Mom asked me several times to not sleep in my room but… I slept in my room.
Our father is fine this morning we had a conversation with him on telephone.
But we are sad, crying, quite… that’s unbearable.
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