2019 Kashmir

earthquake

The 2019 Kashmir earthquake struck

Azad Kashmir (the Pakistan-administered
portion of the disputed territory of
Kashmir)[2] on 24 September at 16:02 local
time (11:02 UTC). It had a magnitude of
5.6 Mw and a maximum felt intensity of VII
(very strong) on the Modified Mercalli
scale.[1] There was severe damage in
Mirpur District, causing the deaths of 40
people and injuring a further 850.[3] The
epicentre of the shallow quake was near
the city of Mirpur, Pakistan.[4] The tremors
were felt in the Kashmir region, Punjab
(Pakistan), Punjab (India), Uttarakhand and
northern parts of India including New
Delhi.[5]
 2019 Kashmir earthquake

KabulIslamabad
Lahore

UTC time 2019-09-24 11:01:55

ISC event 616494855

USGS-ANSS ComCat

Local date 24 September 2019

Local time 16:02 Pakistan

Standard Time

Magnitude 5.6 Mw[1]

Depth 10 km (6.2 mi)

Epicenter 33.106°N 73.766°E

Type Thrust

Areas affected Kashmir

Max. intensity VII (Very strong)

Casualties 40 dead, 850 injured

Tectonic setting
Kashmir lies at the southern margin of the
broad zone of continental collision
between the Eurasian and Indian Plates.
The rate of convergence between these
plates near this location is 38 mm per
year.[6] The main structures involved in
accommodating this convergence are
large thrust faults, such as the Main
Central Thrust and the Main Frontal
Thrust. Within the frontal thrust zone, there
are many individual thrust faults. Many
damaging earthquakes have resulted from
movement on such thrust faults, such as
the 2005 Kashmir earthquake which
caused the deaths of around 87,000
people.[1]

Damage
The earthquake caused severe damage to
135 houses in Mirpur District, with a
further 319 being partially damaged, most
in Mirpur and just four in Bhimber District.
Two bridges were reported damaged and
parts of several roads were affected,
particularly 14 km of the Main Jatlan
Road.[7][8]
According to the chairman of Pakistan's
National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA), "In Mirpur, besides the city, a
small town Jatlan, and two small villages
Manda and Afzalpur" were among the
worst-hit areas. According to him, the
main road which runs alongside a river
from Mangla to Jatla suffered major
damage.[9] According to the officials, the
Mangla Dam, Pakistan's major water
reservoir, was spared. However, the dam's
power house was closed, which resulted in
a loss of 900 megawatts to Pakistan's
national power grid. At 7:20 pm, power
generation at Mangla was resumed,
restoring 700 MW to the national grid.[10]
According to a media report, cracks and
fissures had appeared in the Upper Jhelum
canal. Flood water had managed to enter
the Chak Nigah village in Jatlan town.[11]
The canal was subsequently shut as a
precautionary measure.[10]

Casualties
Forty people have died and more than 850
injured as per the reports published on 26
September. Of those who died, thirty-three
were in Mirpur District, four in Bhimber
District, and one more in Jhelum District.[7]
Reuters reported, citing architects, that the
large number of casualties were due to
shoddy building construction methods and
weak construction standards in
Pakistan.[2] Sardar Gulfaraz Khan, the
deputy inspector general of police for
Mirpur district, stated that a large number
of deaths were caused due to the collapse
of old houses in the villages.[2]

Response
The Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and
Kashmir, Farooq Haider Khan, cut short a
visit to Lahore and went back to his native
region immediately after the reports of the
damage emerged.[12] NDMA vehicles laden
with 200 tents, 800 blankets, 200 kitchen
sets and 100 medical kits were dispatched
to affected areas.[9]

Aftershocks
On 26 September at 12:30, two days after
the major earthquake, another earthquake
struck Mirpur, which led to a further 67
people being injured.[13] It was of
magnitude 4.7 and centered at Thothal
Mirpur at the depth of 10 kilometres
(6.2 mi).[14]

References
1. ANSS. "Pakistan 2019 : M 5.6 – 3km S
of New Mirpur, Pakistan" .
 Comprehensive Catalog. U.S.
Geological Survey. Retrieved
24 September 2019
2. "Shoddy homes worsen Pakistan
earthquake damage" . Reuters. 26
September 2019. Retrieved
26 September 2019.
3. "AJK Government Declares
Earthquake-hit Mirpur The Calamity-hit
Area" . UrduPoint. Retrieved
2019-09-28.
4. "23 dead, more than 300 injured as
5.6-magnitude quake rocks northern
Pakistan" . Dawn. September 24,
2019.
5. "Tremors In Delhi, Parts Of North India
After 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake In
Pakistan" . NDTV.com. Retrieved
26 September 2019.
6. USGS. "Himalaya tectonic summary
map" (PDF). Retrieved 27 September
2019.
7. National Disaster Management
Authority (26 September 2019).
"NDMA Situation Report No. 04 -
Mirpur Earthquake 2019 (Dated - 26
September 2019 @ 1530 hours)"
(PDF). Retrieved 26 September 2019.
 8. Chaudhry, Fahad, Tariq Naqash (25
September 2019). "Death toll from
quake climbs to 38 as relief
operations continue" . DAWN.COM.
Retrieved 26 September 2019.
9. "NDMA chairman briefs media about
earthquake damage, rescue efforts" .
Dawn. September 24, 2019.
10. "Mangla power generation resumes
after being affected" . Dawn.
September 25, 2019.
11. "Mangla Dam safe after earthquake
but 900MW reportedly lost" . Geo
News. September 24, 2019.
12. "Earthquake Strikes Pakistan, Killing at
Least 22" . The New York Times.
September 24, 2019.
13. AFP, Naqash, Tariq (26 September
2019). "67 injured as shallow tremor
rocks Mirpur, Jhelum and adjoining
areas" . DAWN.COM. Retrieved
26 September 2019.
14. Koshy, Jacob (26 September 2019).
"Fresh quake near India-Pakistan
border" . The Hindu. Retrieved
26 September 2019.

External links
ReliefWeb's main page for this event.
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=2019_Kashmir_earthquake&oldid=919409845"

Last edited 2 days ago by Serols

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