Quake rocks Pakistan, India, Afghanistan

[arcos]

Quake rocks Pakistan, India, Afghanistan

A powerful earthquake centered on the India-Pakistan border rocked the capitals of three nations Saturday. There were no immediate reports of any damage, authorities and witnesses said.

The quake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 7.6.

The quake struck shortly before 9 a.m. local time, causing buildings and walls in the Pakistani capital to sway for about a minute. Slight tremors continued afterwards.

<snip>

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9626146/

[adarling]

1. alot of quakes lately

big ones :(

[starroute]

6. The geologists say they go in bunches

The last big cluster was around 1960. Now we've started another one. I don't know if the scientists are sure whether one big quake triggers another or if they all come from the same underlying cause, but we can probably expect a few more shake-ups of catastrophic proportions over the next couple of years.

[dave29]

2. wow

that's a big quake

[mike_c]

3. "no immediate reports of damage...."

That will change. Lots of folks out there in the mountains. This will be very bad for them.

[karlrschneider]

4. Anything over a 7 is HUGH!!!111!!!

I'm SERIES!

[electricray]

10. So sorry to ask but could anyone explain the inside joke of HUGH!!!111!!!

Is it really as simple as poking fun at poor typists/spellers? I have a feeling it must have something to do with freepers, but that is just a guess.

[SoCalDem]

13. They think it's the correct spelling of 'huge'..they also have issues

with "series".. (aka serious :)

[Rainscents]

14. Yes it is... It's making fun of Freepers! LOL

[undeterred]

5. Huge indeed- take a look

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usdyae.htm

[Up2Late]

7. That is REALLY Big! USGS is saying 7.6, here's Reuters' report

Big quake rocks Indian subcontinent

Sat Oct 8, 2005 01:02 AM ET

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A major earthquake with a magnitude of at least 7.6 struck Pakistan on Saturday and was felt across the Indian subcontinent, shaking people out of their homes and sending them running into the streets. The quake was felt in the Indian, Pakistani and Afghan capitals, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) highlighted a large earthquake on its Website between Indian- and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir with a magnitude of 7.6. It described the quake as "major," saying it took place at 0350 GMT at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles). It was centered 95 km (60 miles) northeast of Islamabad and 125 km (75 miles) northwest of Srinagar.

Japanese quake experts put the magnitude at 7.8. Tokyo measures earthquakes according to a technique similar to the Richter scale but adjusted for Japan's geological characteristics. "We can say that it was one of the strongest earthquakes (ever) felt in Islamabad," said Mohammad Hanif, an official at the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9864910&src=rss/topNews>
(more at link above)

[Rainscents]

11. I wonder how deep it was... This makes huge difference!

[Up2Late]

16. 10 km (6.2 miles) They just had a 5.6 after-shock about an hour ago

Here's the USGS links:

7.6
<http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usdyae.htm>

Regional Map
<http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Maps/10/75_35.html>

5.6
<http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usdyas.htm>

[Rainscents]

20. Wow, that's NOT very deep! Which mean, more surface area will be damage!

[Up2Late]

23. Looks like it was in the mountains, but I bet any towns near by...

...60%-70% will be dead or injured. It's not going to be pretty.

[malaise]

33. Too sad

expect massive loss of life.

Strong earthquake rocks northern Pakistan, India ISLAMABAD, Oct 8 (AFP) - A strong earthquake shook a large swathe of northern Pakistan and India at around 9:25 a.m. (PST} on Saturday, rocking buildings and sending people fleeing into the streets, witnesses said. The Hong Kong Observatory said preliminary analysis showed the epicenter was just inside northern Pakistan close to the border with India. The US Geological Survey said the epicenter was 100 kilometres northeast of Islamabad.The temblor was felt across northern and eastern Pakistan as well as occupied Kashmir, parts of Afghanistan, northern India and upto New Delhi. "It was so severe in Lahore that we rushed out of our homes and we are still outside," said Sohail Ahmed, a local resident contacted by telephone. Residents in Islamabad said the ground shook for over 30 seconds, rocking buildings and causing widespread panic. A second less severe jolt lasted about five seconds."This is the strongest earthquake I have ever witnessed in my life," said Aisha Begum, 84, of Srinagar.

http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/08/welcome.htm

[SoCalDem]

8. Osama farted?

:evilgrin:

[Rainscents]

9. LOL...

[shockingelk]

12. swear, I get headaches

... at big earthquakes.

Thing is I get headaches when there are no earthquakes.

At a temp job a decade ago, I told co-workers I thought there would be a big earthquake ... only time I predicted out loud ... and was right 1/2 hour later.

[Rainscents]

15. Did you get headache this time?

[shockingelk]

17. Yes

Took two ibuprofen at 9-10 EST.

[Der Blaue Engel]

19. I had the worst headache of my life before the Loma Prieta quake in '89

I never got headaches, so it was really weird...it just hit me late in the afternoon and got worse and worse until I finally couldn't take it anymore and had to go home. I was walking uptown from the Financial District in San Francisco about 20 minutes later when the big one hit.

(How weird; I was working a temp job then, too!)

[PeterBrady]

27. Confused

Let me get this straight. You get headaches when a big earthquake occurs or is about to occur and you get them when there are no earthquakes? Am I missing something?

[shockingelk]

29. answer:

I get infrequent headaches, perhaps 6-8/year, sometimes they are associated with earthquakes, more often not. However, I've noticed a loose correlation.

[VolcanoJen]

18. CNN has gone to International feed now... devastating.

The reporter says aftershocks continue on the Indian side of Kashmir.

Horrible.

[MADem]

21. Pakistan, India Are Hit by 7.6 Magnitude Earthquake

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aGqRxxBmz9EY&refer=top_world_news

Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan and India were shaken by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, one of the biggest to strike the region. Government officials said they fear widespread damage to life and property.

The earthquake, 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, struck at 8:50 a.m. local time 95 kilometers north-north east of Islamabad, which has a population of more than 500,000, and 125 kilometers west-northwest of Srinagar in the disputed territory of Kashmir in India, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.

In Islamabad part of an apartment building called Margalla Towers collapsed, causing an unknown number of casualties, officials told Bloomberg News at the site. One person died in Baramulla town in Indian Kashmir when a building collapsed, India's NDTV reported.

``With such a high-intensity earthquake, the damage to life and property is expected to be huge,'' said Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry, director general at the Pakistan Meteorological Department in Islamabad. ....

[shadowknows69]

34. All positive energies

to our brothers and sisters in the far east.

[don954]

22. dammage reports comming in

This aerial view shows a collapsed building in Islamabad following a strong earthquake on Saturday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9626146/

[Up2Late]

24. More News and Pictures at this link from AFP

<http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/051008072501.2qmcbnwa.html>

[PeterBrady]

25. I guess allah was pissed.

Nothing quite like the mullahs planting their foot in their mouths.

[donheld]

28. Welcome to DU Peter

:hi:

[Up2Late]

26. Lot's of 5.0 or larger quakes lately, what's going on? Here's a map...

From the USGS:

<http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/>

[Greeby]

30. Sigh, ironic

These two nations have threatened to go to nuclear war over this area for so many years, and nature goes and totals it. :wow:

[Rhiannon12866]

31. I just got this... It sounds really bad.

Toll rises in major Asian quake

CNN) -- At least 88 people were killed in South and Central Asia and hundreds more injured when a magnitude 7.6 earthquake -- estimated to be the most intense in the region in the last century -- jolted residents of three countries as far as 400 miles away Saturday.

Officials have warned the death toll could be in the thousands.

Forty-nine of those killed were in Pakistan, including a girl killed when her school was damaged in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/10/08/quake.pakistan/index.html

[malaise]

35. Well over 1000 people are dead

according to BBC.
Here's a report from India
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200510081601.htm
Edit -sp. Headline

[spinbaby]

32. It looks bad

ABC was just showing pancaked buildings and said two villages were wiped out by landslides.

[NYdemocrat089]

36. MSNBC is now saying at least 500 dead and 1700 injured.

This is so horrible...those numbers will probably be much higher. They think there might be thousands dead.

[CBGLuthier]

37. Hundreds Dead in Pakistan-India Earthquake

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake near the Pakistan-India border Saturday reduced villages to rubble, triggered landslides and flattened an apartment building, killing hundreds of people in both nations. Pakistan's army called the devastation "a national tragedy."

In the capitals of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, buildings shook and walls swayed for about a minute, and panicked people ran from their homes and offices. Tremors continued for hours afterward. Communications throughout the region were cut.

Pakistan's Geo television quoted chief army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan as saying 1,000 people were feared dead. Army officials who flew over quake-hit areas reported seeing hundreds of flattened homes in villages north of the capital, Islamabad.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051008/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_quake

[emad]

38. Link to latest BBC News coverage:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4321490.stm

[Up2Late]

39. Magnitude 6.3 aftershock too.

<http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usdya2.htm>

<http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Maps/10/75_35.html>

[sabra]

40. Earthquake Kills 3,000 Across South Asia

http://abcnews.go.com/International/Weather/wireStory?id=1195830

[malaise]

41. Isn't it amazing that the governments of

these countries aren't hiding the number of people who died? And they won't leave their dead lying in the streets either.