Ironworks Gaming Forum - Massive Earthquake in Asia, 18000+ dead

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapc...tan/index.html

Quote:

The magnitude 7.6 quake, which was followed by strong aftershocks, is feared to have caused thousands of deaths in Pakistan; India; the disputed territory of Kashmir, and Afghanistan.

The confirmed death toll stands at 1,337.

The quake hit Saturday at 8:50 a.m. local time (11:50 p.m. ET Friday). The epicenter was about 60 miles north-northeast of Islamabad.

Effects of the quake, the most intense in the region in a century, were felt hundreds of miles away.

Remote towns and major cities, such as Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, India's capital of New Delhi and the Pakistani city of Lahore, were shaken.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz "expressed their profound grief over the tragic loss of life and damage to property as a result of the quake," according to a statement issued by the government.

The death toll in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir now stands at 1,080, authorities say.

That includes 520 in North-West Frontier province, 310 in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, and 50 in the Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Also, 200 Pakistani soldiers were killed in Kashmir and northern areas of Pakistan, and 300 others were injured, the country's military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told CNN.

The figures come from police, the Interior Ministry and hospitals.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, at least 256 people were dead. Officials estimated some 500 homes in the region had been destroyed.

In New Delhi, some 406 miles from Islamabad, buildings swayed and furniture moved, causing people to panic and rush into into the streets. The Indian government activated its national disaster plan.

Indian controls the Jammu-Kashmir state of India and Pakistan controls Azad Kashmir. The disputed territory is separated by a territorial border called the Line of Control. Damage and casualties were also reported in remote northeast Afghanistan.

Technical Sgt. Marina Evans, speaking for the U.S.-led coalition forces in Kabul, said the earthquake was felt in the Afghan capital of Kabul "but the effects were minimal."

"At this time, we have not received any requests to assist in the earthquake recovery efforts," she said.

Many people were still in their beds at the time of the quake. Witness Malik Abdul Manan said he and his family "woke up and ran out. The shocks went on for a long time." (Survivors describe shock awakening)

"This was the strongest earthquake in the area during the last hundred years," Qamar Uz Zaman, director-general of the Pakistani Meteorological Department, told CNN.

A series of aftershocks, including one of 6.3 magnitude and four at more than 5.4, renewed panic. In Indian-controlled Kashmir, many people refused to return indoors.

Frantic efforts to rescue survivors were under way in Islamabad. Video footage from Pakistani television showed crowds of people climbing on the rubble of an apartment building and attempting to free those trapped under large concrete slabs. Some of the injured were carried away on stretchers.

Musharraf and Aziz reviewed rescue and relief operations at the collapsed apartment building -- the 10-story residential Margalla Tower.

About 70 to 80 people were trapped in the rubble, the government said.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and senior military and civilian officials, were overseeing the operations and briefed the leaders.

The government said Pakistan Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Civil Administration and Capital Development Authority took part in the operations.

"The reaction has been very fast, people reached the site shortly after the earthquake and responded efficiently and I think they are following a right strategy," Musharraf said, according to a government statement.

City officials are trying to obtain heavy earth and rubble moving machinery from the private sector to help rescue the trapped people.
Landslides follow quake
The quake also triggered landslides, resulting in the closure of some highways, officials said.

The quake was "quite shallow," said David Applegate, senior science advisor for earthquake and geologic hazards for the U.S. Geological Survey. "That means the shaking is going to be very intense."

The fact that Islamabad was near the epicenter "means a fairly large urban population has experienced some strong shaking," Applegate said.

The National Earthquake Information Center put the quake at 7.6 magnitude, which it considers "major." The Pakistani Meteorological Department put the magnitude at 7.5, and Japan's Meteorological Agency put it at 7.8.

In February 2004, a pair of earthquakes registering 5.5 and 5.4 magnitude, respectively, killed at least 21 people and injured dozens more and destroyed hundreds of homes built of mud, stone and timber in a rugged, mountainous area about 90 miles northwest of Islamabad.

In January 2001, some 30,000 people died in a magnitude 7.7 quake in western India.

This is just terrible. It seems like natural disasters are hitting hard everywhere these last few months.

[ 10-09-2005, 01:25 AM: Message edited by: SecretMaster ]