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South Asia: Earthquake - Oct 2005

Disaster description

A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck south Asia on Saturday 8 Oct 2005, totally devastating parts of northern Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. The epicentre of the earthquake was located 95 kilometres northeast of the Pakistan capital Islamabad. (OCHA, 26 Oct 2005)

Approximately 75,000 people were killed, 70,000 injured, and an estimated 3.5 million people were left homeless. The earthquake response, which was led from the earliest stages of rescue and relief to the ongoing reconstruction phase by the Pakistan Army, is judged by many to have been the most effective response ever to a natural disaster of this magnitude. (Feinstein International Center, 25 Feb 2008)

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