Balakot (Muzaffarabad) Pakistan Earthquake of 8 October 2005, Mw7.6
An earthquake of magnitude Mw=7.6 occurred in the NE of Pakistan on Oct. 8, 2005, at 8:50:40 a.m. local time, (3:50:40 GMT). Its epicenter was located at about 10 km in the east of Balakot and 19 km in the north-east of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan administered Kashmir. The earthquake caused heavy life and property losses in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), western and southern parts of Kashmir on Indian side and eastern parts of Afghanistan. More than 80,000 persons were killed according to the official report. The affected region is a mountainous area with high landslide potential. A series of landslides were triggered by the earthquake, which blocked and damaged roads and power transport lines. Small houses located in the slopes were buried under the debris of landslides.
Balakot, Muzaffarabad earthquake, of 8 Oct. 2005, with the magnitude Mw=7.6, occurred along Muzaffarabad fault, and most likely a part of the fault between Bagh and Balakot was reactivated. Strong ground motion caused severe damage especially in the east and northeast part of the epicenter. The direction of the strong movement mostly were northwest-southeast. As the occurrence time of the previous event on this fault segment is unknown, paleoseismological studies are required to infer the recurrence interval. Islamabad city is located near the syntaxial bend where the tectonic processes are more intense and complex. Therefore, the region has very high potential seismic hazard. The seismic hazard zonation map of Pakistan, produced by Geological Survey of Pakistan before 8 Oct. 2005, represented moderate hazard level in Balakot region (Figure 8) . After Balakot earthquake, the seismic hazard map of Pakistan has been revised. Balakot and Muzaffarabad zones now lie in high seismic hazard zones. However, in order to update the seismic hazard zoning maps for Pakistan, incorporating major active tectonic units and assuming proper seismicity parameter are proposed for the input of seismic hazard map.
