Pakistan Earthquake 10 Years On

On October 8th 2005, at 08:50 am local time, a massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Himalayan region of northern Pakistan and Kashmir, with the epicentre located approximately 19 km northeast of Muzaffrabad.

The official death toll stood at 87,500, though it’s believed over 100,000 people lost their lives that day. Entire generations were lost. Gone forever in the blink of an eye.

A horrifying 19,000 children were killed, most of them in the widespread collapse of school buildings. As well as the staggering number of deaths, the casualties of the earthquake included amputees, orphans and huge numbers of malnourished people.

780,000 buildings were damaged or completely destroyed, including 17,000 school buildings and hospitals. 3.5 million people lost their homes and their livelihoods. Many surviving children lost their education. Plus vital lifelines, including main highways and roads, along with power supplies, were cut off.

Please join us as we remember the Pakistan earthquake 10 years on – and help us to rebuild the lives that continue to be affected.

At a glance:

• 87,500 people killed
• 19,000 children killed
• 780,000 buildings damaged or destroyed
• 3.5 million people homeless
• 500,000 families affected

How we helped

Following the earthquake, we launched a huge relief and rehabilitation operation in the worst hit areas of AJ&K and KPK.

We provided:

Food, shelter, clothing, bedding and heating

• Over 35 metric ton of food, providing as many as 500 families with food for four months in Azad Kashmir and KPK
• 517 tents in Muzaffarabad and Mansehra - the beneficiaries were having to live out in the open, including children and the elderly
• Warm clothes for 1,500 families
• Bedding for over 300 families
• Coal to protect families from the harsh weather conditions
• More than 700 earthquake-resistant shelter houses with kitchens and wash rooms, constructed within 3 months of the earthquake - a large number are still intact, providing refuge for people at Niazpura, Balakpunna and Kroli. The earthquake-resistant design was later adopted by SERA
• Financial support

Emergency healthcare

• A camp hospital at Mansehra – over 150 surgeries were successfully carried out by a team of highly experienced health professionals
• 12 medical camps, providing healthcare and referrals for patients in Muzaffarabad and Mansehra
• 500 wheelchairs for disabled people at Muzaffarabad and Mansehra

Education

• A camp school at Muzaffarabad so 300 children could continue their education
• Books, uniforms and basic teaching support material for a large number of schools
• An EHSAS Project, enhancing the quality of education at public sector schools in AJ&K through teachers training and student development programmes – over 1,200 teachers and 70,000 students are benefiting

Water and sanitation program

• More than 200 water wells in Muzaffarabad and Mansehra
• 500 hand pumps installed

Livelihood programmes

• Seeds, fertilizers, tool kits and training to promote agriculture amongst 15,000 families in Muzaffarabad and Mansehra
• Wood cutting machines to help skilled workers to create wooden shelters in Muzaffarabad, Bagh-AJK and Mansehra-KPK - beneficiaries agreed to provide their services at a discounted rate
• Sewing skills for 90 females in Bagh and Mansehra – 30 students were provided with sewing machines
• Introduced tunnel farming in Bagh and Mansehra – 30 projects are currently in operation and many farmers are adopting the tunnel farming model
• Introduced honey bee farming at district Bagh. Today more than 30 men and women work in the profession on a full time basis. One of our beneficiaries earned Rs. 0.2million last year alone!
• Introduced olive farming in Bagh on experimental basis. The results have been quite encouraging and farmers expecting to reap the first crop next year
• Trained 1,500 families and provided then with the necessary tools and seeds to initiate kitchen farming in Bagh and Mansehra

With your help, we can continue rebuilding lives in Pakistan, so please donate generously.