Pakistan: Disaster Awareness Day tomorrow in memory of 2005 earthquake victims

[Emily]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C10%5C07%5Cstory_7-10-2011_pg11_6

Daily Times - Site Edition Friday, October 07, 2011

In memory of 2005 earthquake victims

NDMA to observe Disaster Awareness Day tomorrow

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: In remembrance of the martyrs of 2005 Earthquake, the worst disaster in the history of Pakistan, the whole nation will observe Disaster Awareness Day on October 8.

The objective of this event is to express solidarity with the bereaved families who lost their members on that day and to arouse the spirit of individual as well as group enrichment to face the challenges in the post disaster scenario. In consonance with the significance of the occasion, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with the help of the United Nations (UN) is launching an awareness campaign for safer schools, hospitals and more resilient civic facilities. Assigning high priority to the campaign and to the disaster risk reduction in the backdrop of recent natural disasters which occurred in Pakistan, UN Secretary General special representative on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Ms Margarita Wahlstrom is visiting Pakistan from October 6 to October 8 to further take along a more pro-active DRR agenda in Pakistan with increasing emphasis on effective mitigation, prevention and prepared in case of disasters...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Kashmir_earthquake

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2005 Kashmir Earthquake

Date October 8, 2005
Magnitude 7.6 Mw
Depth 10 km
Epicenter Muzaffarabad, AJK
Countries or regions Pakistan, India, Afghanistan
Casualties 79,000 dead (17th deadliest earthquake of all time)
106,000+ injured

The 2005 Kashmir earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time (03:52:37 GMT) on 8 October 2005. It registered a moment magnitude of 7.6 making it similar in size to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 1935 Quetta earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and the 2009 Sumatra earthquakes. As of 8 November, the government of Pakistan's official death toll was 75,000. The earthquake also affected countries in the surrounding region where tremors were felt in Tajikistan, western China; while officials say nearly 1,400 people also died in Indian-administered Kashmir and four people in Afghanistan...