Earthquake in Pakistan 2019

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Earthquake in Pakistan 2019
Earthquake in Pakistan 2019 (Pakistan)
Bullseye1.svg
Coordinates 33 ° 6 '22 "  N , 73 ° 45' 58"  E Coordinates: 33 ° 6 '22 "  N , 73 ° 45' 58"  E
date September 24, 2019
Time 11:01:54 UTC
intensity VII  on the MM scale
Magnitude 5.4  M W
depth 10 km
epicenter 3 km south of Mirpur
country Pakistan
dead 40
Injured at least 852


Surface intensity

The 2019 earthquake in Pakistan shook the earth on September 24, 2019 at 4:01 p.m. local time with a magnitude of 5.4 M w on the moment magnitude scale . Its epicenter was between the cities of Jhelam and Mirpur .

Tectonic background

The earthquake occurred at a converging plate boundary , where the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate are moving towards each other at a speed of 39 millimeters per year and the Indian plate is submerged under the Eurasian plate. This collision caused, on the one hand, the formation of mountains such as the Himalayas or the Pamirs , and, on the other hand, the formation of numerous large faults . The September 2019 earthquake was the result of postponing one of these faults. Due to the large compressive energy, strong earthquakes occur repeatedly at this plate boundary, such as the devastating earthquake in Kashmir in 2005 .

The USGS earthquake monitoring station has located the epicenter of the quake in Asad Jammu and Kashmir , the Pakistani-controlled area of ​​the Kashmir region , three kilometers south of the city of Mirpur and around 20 kilometers north of Jhelam. According to the Pakistani earthquake observatory, the epicenter was five kilometers north of Jhelam and thus in the Pakistani province of Punjab .

USGS initially stated the magnitude of the earthquake as 5.6 M w , but revised the strength to 5.4 M w in 2020 . The Pakistani earthquake service classified the magnitude at 5.8 M w . The depth of the quake was 10 kilometers. The Mirpur district in Asad Jammu and Kashmir was hardest hit . The quake could also be felt in the neighboring states of India and Afghanistan . The quake was felt by over 2.2 million people at an intensity of V or higher on the Modified Mercalli Scale.

Several aftershocks occurred, the strongest of which occurred on September 26, 2019 at noon (local time) and had a magnitude of 4.7 M w .

Victim

According to official figures from September 30, the quake killed 40 people and injured 852, many of them life-threatening. The aid organization Muslim Aid put the number of injuries at over 1,600.

In the aftershock on September 26, another 67 people were injured, according to media reports. In a small aftershock on October 6, a house in Mirpur collapsed, killing one person and injuring two others.

Damage

Several buildings collapsed or were damaged, the aid organization Islamic Relief reported 1,600 buildings collapsed and 7,000 damaged. A preliminary assessment by the state disaster control agency dated October 11th confirmed 7,456 damaged buildings. Four bridges and several roads were partly badly damaged. There have been reports that houses in one place have sunk three feet into the ground. According to geoscientist Dave Petely, liquefaction may have occurred.

The collapse of old houses claimed many victims, but new buildings of inferior quality also collapsed. Building regulations for earthquake-proof construction were often not adhered to or checked.

There were failures in the power and mobile network. The damaged Upper Jhelum Canal was flooded in several places, but most of the water was diverted into the Jhelam River . Two bridges over the canal and a road on its bank were badly damaged.

The turbines of the Mangla dam were switched off to be on the safe side . There was no damage to the dam. By the quake accumulated silt in the reservoir should by a reservoir flushing to be removed. Electricity generation resumed on the morning of September 25th.

Relief efforts

Ambulances , rescue vehicles and heavy equipment for clearing and repair tasks were ordered to the affected region. State and regional disaster control organizations brought relief supplies. The military supported the rescue operations. Teams with doctors from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences traveled to Mirpur. The rain that set in the morning after the quake hampered the rescue work. Educational institutions were closed for three days. At least 5,000 people were temporarily housed in tents.

The state promised the families of the victims financial support.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d M 5.4 - 7km SSE of New Mirpur, Pakistan. USGS , accessed August 6, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c Bulletin Detail: Event No. 156. In: seismic.pmd.gov.pk . September 24, 2019, accessed September 25, 2019.
  3. ↑ M 5.6 - 3km S of New Mirpur, Pakistan. ( Memento of September 24, 2019 in the Internet Archive ) USGS, September 24, 2019 (English).
  4. ↑ a b Quake shakes AJK, Punjab & KP; 25 killed in Mirpur. In: reliefweb.int. DAWN Group of Newspapers, September 25, 2019, accessed September 25, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b c d The number of victims after the earthquake in Pakistan continues to rise. In: derstandard.at . September 25, 2019, accessed September 25, 2019.
  6. ↑ Pakistan | Earthquake of September 24. (PDF; 782 kB) In: reliefweb.int. ERCC , September 25, 2019, accessed September 25, 2019 .
  7. ↑ a b NDMA Situation Report No. 4 - Mirpur Earthquake 2019. (PDF; 1.89 MB) In: reliefweb.int. Pakistani Civil Protection Agency, September 26, 2019, accessed September 26, 2019 .
  8. ↑ M 4.7 - 4km WNW of New Mirpur, Pakistan. USGS , September 26, 2019, accessed September 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ Sanaullah Khan: PM Imran briefed on earthquake losses, relief efforts on visit to Mirpur. In: dawn.com . September 30, 2019, accessed September 30, 2019.
  10. ↑ Kashmir Earthquake: Situation Updates Azad Jammu & Kashmir. (PDF; 1.7 MB) In: reliefweb.int. Muslim Aid, September 30, 2019, accessed October 6, 2019 .
  11. ↑ 67 injured as shallow tremor rocks Mirpur, Jhelum and adjoining areas. In: reliefweb.int. DAWN Group of Newspapers, September 26, 2019, accessed September 26, 2019 .
  12. ↑ One dead after quake hits Mirpur, adjoining areas. In: geo.tv . October 6, 2019, accessed October 6, 2019.
  13. ↑ Mirpur's survivors struck by second powerful earthquake. In: reliefweb.int . Islamic Relief , September 27, 2019, accessed September 27, 2019.
  14. ↑ a b NDMA Situation Report No. 19 - Mirpur Earthquake 2019. (PDF; 1.79 MB) In: ndma.gov.pk. Pakistani Civil Protection Agency, October 11, 2019, accessed October 26, 2019 .
  15. ↑ a b Death toll from Kashmir earthquake mounts to 38. In: samaa.tv . September 25, 2019, accessed on September 25, 2019.
  16. ↑ Dave Petely: The Mirpur earthquake in Pakistan: images of lateral spreading. In: blogs.agu.org/landslideblog . September 25, 2019, accessed on September 26, 2019.
  17. ^ Rod Nickel, Charlotte Greenfield: Shoddy homes worsen Pakistan earthquake damage. In: reuters.com . September 25, 2019, accessed on September 26, 2019.
  18. ↑ Khalid Hasnain: Mangla power generation resumes after being affected. In: dawn.com . September 25, 2019, accessed on September 30, 2019.
  19. ↑ a b Pakistan: PM visits quake-hit areas as survivors groan. In: aa.com.tr . September 30, 2019, accessed September 30, 2019.