Wednesday 29 October 2008

Hundreds dead after Pakistan earthquake




Each year when we do the Earth Forces section this seems to happen. This time it is Pakistan’s turn. Hardly surprising when you see the plate boundaries in this region. Large parts of south Asia are at risk because a tectonic plate, known as the Indian plate, is pushing north into the Eurasian plate. Remember we mentioned that India used to be found at the Southern part of Africa! Look at the other posts to find out about this. At least 170 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake hit south-west Pakistan, leaving thousands homeless. Baluchistan is Pakistan's largest region geographically but is sparsely populated. There were aftershocks throughout the day. Boulders came crashing down from the mountains. The people were really scared. The Pakistan meteorological department put the magnitude (strength) of today's quake at 6.5. The official death toll is around 170 but reports are still coming in from remote areas. Some homes were buried in a landslide triggered by the quakeThis is expected to rise. Several people were injured in the panic, with one person hurting his legs after jumping from a first floor window and three people wounded when people fired guns in the air after the quake, hospital officials said. Read more here and here and watch a video here.

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