A History Of Natural Disasters

Pakistan Earthquake 2005

I got this picture from http://www.globalsecurity.org/

On the morning of 8th October 2oo5 a severe eartquake struck Pakistan and India. This earthquake had a magnitude of over 7 on the richter scale. The eartquake struck during rush hour resulting in many more deaths. However, the earthquake wasn't the main killer of people.It was the aftershocks, of which there were over 100 that killed most people. All in all many people were killed ( over 80,000 in total). Added to this are the 3.5 million that were injured or left homeless.

I got this picture from http://www.thepakistanquake.com/

As if tere weren't already enough deaths, many more Pakistanis froze or starved to death in the harsh Pakistani winter that quickly followed this devastating natural disaster. Emergency aid struggled to reach those most in need when it mattered most. Aswell as the earthquake striking during rush hour it also struck while children were at school. Thousands of Pakistani children were crushed to death as the school buildings they were in collapsed on top of them.

Now, you may be wondering why this earthquake struck the Pakistan-India border. The reason is because this is where the Eurasian and Indian plates meet. These two plates are constantly pushing past one another or colliding with each other and causing destruction. It was these same two plates that caused the Himalayan mountain range to form and also caused the underground earthquake that formed the tsunami on 26th December 2004. The bordering areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India were worst hit by the eartquake.

Rescue teams were immediately on hand to help try and take survivors from the rubble. However, some areas of Pakistan were extremely remote and rubble blocked the path of the rescue teams. As a result, many more starved or died of their injuries due to lack of aid. The weather also made it more difficult for rescue teams to reach victims. As the harsh winter drew in, thousands of people with fevers and injuries sought shelter in hospitals in Pakistan and India. These hospitals became overcrowded and doctors sruggled to treat everybody, resulting in many more deaths.

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