By: Leena Sen
On October 26th, a devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.5 hit Pakistan and Afghanistan, leaving over 380 dead. Northern India and Tajikistan also felt tremors.
At least 12 Afghan schoolgirls were killed from falling structures along with 25 students who were injured in the stampede to leave dangerous sites. Several other schools collapsed, injuring numerous children.
As of the 26th, authorities have reported 1800 as injured and at least 179 dead. The earthquake sent a landslide into the Hunza river in the city of Karimabad. Hundreds of houses have also been destroyed, creating additional stress with the winter settling in.
Earthquakes in this region are not infrequent. Â In 2005, a 7.6 magnitude quake left over 75,000 dead in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Â This April Nepal experienced its worst recorded earthquake (7.8), leaving 9,000 dead and 900,000 homes damaged or destroyed.
In comparison to the Kashmir earthquake, which was 26 km deep into the Earth’s ground, the Afghanistan-Pakistan earthquake was 200 km deep, causing vast but less severe ground shaking.
Nonetheless, efforts continue to find victims of the earthquake and provide aid to those affected.
