Earthquake Journal Entry

Deadly Quake Slams South Asia (October 9, 2005)

A catastrophic magnitude 7.6 earthquake rocked South Asia this weekend. Shaking from the quake leveled entire villages across a wide area in the rugged mountains of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. Rescuers continued digging through the rubble looking for survivors but early estimates are that at least 18,000 people were killed. More than 40,000 others were hurt.

The quake's epicenter was in Pakistan's Hindu Kush mountains about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of the capital Islamabad. The shallow quake struck only 6 miles (10 km) below the surface. The quake began with gentle swaying but soon the ground started shaking violently. Within seconds, thousands of mud and brick homes crumbled to the ground while larger buidings rocked and collapsed. At least one school with 250 children inside was destroyed.

Shaking from the earthquake was felt hundreds of miles away, from Afghanistan's capital Kabul to New Delhi in India and even in neighboring Bangladesh. Panicked city residents across the region ran out into the streets when the shaking began. The quake was followed by dozens of smaller aftershocks of up to magnitude 6.2.

Earthquakes in the region are the result of the northward push of the Indo-Australian plate carrying the Indian subcontinent into the Eurasian plate that carries Asia and Europe. Until about 150 million years ago, the Indian subcontinent was attached to Antarctica but then broke away. About 50 million years ago, it slammed into Asia. This collision is causing the uplift that has thrust the majestic Himalayas high into the sky. The area is criss-crossed with many earthquake faults that arc across the foothills of northern India and northern Pakistan.