Srinagar: An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale occurred on Saturday with an epicentre in Pakistan, while its tremors were felt in J&K.
Mukhtar Ahmad, Director of MET Department, told IANS that an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale occurred on Saturday at 13:00:55 IST with latitude 33.63 degrees north and Longitude 72.46 degrees east.
“The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Pakistan region. The earthquake occurred 10 km inside Earth’s crust. Mild tremors were also felt in J&K,” he said.
Seismologically, Kashmir Valley is situated in an earthquake-prone region, where earthquakes in the past have wreaked havoc.
On October 8, 2005, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale occurred at 8.50 am with the epicentre in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Over 80,000 people were killed in the earthquake on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).
The 2005 earthquake was also felt in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India and in the Xinjiang region.
The severity of the damage caused by the earthquake is attributed to severe upthrust. Although not the largest earthquake to hit this region in terms of magnitude, the earthquake of 2005 is considered the deadliest, surpassing the 1935 Quetta earthquake.
It was the fifth-deadliest natural disaster of the decade. Sources indicate that the official death toll in this earthquake in Pakistan was between 73,276 and 87,350, with some estimates being as high as over 100,000 dead.
In India, 1,360 people were killed, while 6,266 people were injured, and four others died in Afghanistan.
Three and a half million people were left without shelter, and approximately 138,000 people were injured in the 2005 earthquake.
The Chenab Valley region of J&K has also been witnessing periodic tremors during the last ten years.
In some of those incidents, many private and government buildings developed cracks and became uninhabitable in Kishtwar and Doda districts.
Experts have advised people to ensure that earthquake-friendly structures are constructed in Kashmir Valley and the Chenab Valley region to minimise damage during earthquakes in future.
Traditional wood and mud structures built in the Valley in the past would suffer minimal damage due to earthquakes in the past.
As cement concrete structures replaced the traditional wood and mud structures, the vulnerability of such structures to earthquakes has increased manifold.
(IANS)
