Kashmir Case Study

Question 1

where is Kashmir

Answer 1

north of Pakistan

Question 2

what plate margin and which plates does Kashmir sit on

Answer 2

• destructive plate margin

- indian plate being forced under the Eurasian plate

Question 3

when did the earthquake occur and what time

Answer 3

• 8th October 2005

- 8:50 am

Question 4

what did the earthquake measure on the Richter scale

Answer 4

7.6

Question 5

how deep was the focus of the earthquake and where was the epicentre

Answer 5

• 16 miles deep

- epicentre was close to Muzaffarabad

Question 6

why did the earthquake occur

Answer 6

movement along the plate margin which caused a 75km crack in Earth’s surface to form

Question 7

how far did the damage caused by the earthquake spread

Answer 7

30,000 km2, felt as far away as Kabul in Afghanistan and Delhi in India

Question 8

how many aftershocks were there following the earthquake and how big were they

Answer 8

by 27th October 2005 had been 978 aftershocks measuring at least 4 on Richter scale

Question 9

what were the economic impacts of the earthquake

Answer 9

• estimated that the earthquake cost around $5 billion in total
• whole villages and thousands of buildings were destroyed. e.g. 80% of town of Uri was destroyed
• total cost of rebuilding was $3.5 billion

Question 10

what were the social impacts of the earthquake

Answer 10

• around 80,000 death, mainly caused by collapsed buildings
• 100,000s of people injured, including around 6000 in India
• 3 million people made homeless
• water pipelines and electricity lines were broken, cutting off supplies
• landslides buried buildings and people, also blocked roads and cut off water supplies, electricity supplies and telephone lines
• diarrhoea and other diseases spread due to little clean water
• freezing winter conditions shortly after earthquake caused more casualties and meant rescue and rebuilding operations were difficult

Question 11

what were the environmental impacts of the earthquake

Answer 11

• landslides and rockfalls occurred throughout the region, most landslides relatively small but 2 major landslides - one in Muzaffarabad and one in Jhelum Valley
• Jhelum Valley landslide was biggest - over 1km wide and debris reached over 2km from top of slide, debris created a dam at bottom of valley that blocked two rivers where they joined
• as a result of earthquake and surface rupture, ground shifted by more than 5m in some areas of Kashmir

Question 12

the response was delayed, but what were some of the first responses to the earthquake

Answer 12

• help didn’t reach many areas for days or weeks, people were rescued by hand with no equipment or help from emergency services
• tents, blankets and medical supplies distributed within a month but to to all areas affected
• international aid and equipment e.g. helicopters and rescue dogs were brought in as well as teams of people from other countries

Question 13

what were some of the longer term resopnses

Answer 13

• Pakistani government set up Federal Relief Commission (FRC) and Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) to coordinate activities with other international agencies
• 40,000 people have been relocated to a new town from destroyed town of Balakot
• government money has been given to people whose homes had been destroyed so they can rebuild themselves
• training has been provided to help rebuild more buildings as earthquake resistant
• new health centres have been set up in the area

Question 14

what was the management prior to the earthquake

Answer 14

no management:

• no local disaster planning in place
• buildings not designed to be earthquake resistant, houses were structurally poor as people couldn’t afford better buildings
• communications were poor, few roads and they were badly constructed