HomeEarthquakes2005 Kashmir

The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake

A Himalayan thrust quake in steep, remote terrain. Winter was already closing the mountain passes as it struck, turning rescue into a race against the snow.

Epicenter

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Magnitude
M7.6
estimated magnitude
When
2005
October 8, 2005
Depth
26 km
shallow crustal earthquake
Deaths
~76,213
estimated toll

What happened

The 2005 Kashmir earthquake struck on October 8, 2005, registering magnitude 7.6 (estimated magnitude). Each whole step on the moment-magnitude scale is roughly 32 times more energy, so this released on the order of 251× the energy of a magnitude 6.0 earthquake.

Its epicenter was located near 34.54°N, 73.59°E, at a depth of about 26 km — a shallow crustal earthquake. Shallow earthquakes like this release their energy close to the surface, which is why the shaking near the epicenter was so violent.

An estimated 76,213 people were killed.

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