Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA

1. M7.7 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES WESTERN PAKISTAN(Distant Locations Feel Shaking From Shallow Earthquake)September 24, 2013 Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA 

2. LOCATION OF PAKISTAN

3. 4:29 PM, SEPT. 24, 2013 • At 4:29 pm local time, a dangerous time of the day, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake occurred at a SHALLOW depth of 23 km in a seismically active area 63 km (36 miles) from the city of Awaran, located in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province.

4. TECTONIC SETTING • According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake, which had a relatively shallow depth, was centered at a complex triple junction in the Earth’s subsurface where the Arabian tectonic plate is pushing its way beneath the Eurasian plate as the Indian plate is ramming both of them from the south:

5. A COMPLEX TECTONIC SETTING

6. A COMPLEX TECTONIC SETTING

7. UNIQUE HAPPENING: THE QUAKE’S TECTONICS CREATED AN ISLAND

8. ISLAND CREATED DURING THE QUAKE

9. ISLAND: EARTHQUAKE OR VOLCANO RELATED?

10. NEW ISLAND EMMITING POISONOUS GAS • The new island, now extending 20 m (60-70 feet) above the water, began emitting poisonous methane gas on September 26.

11. DEATHS

12. EARLY REPORTS OF DEATHS • Early reports indicate that at least 350 people died and 450 were injured as the result of collapses of mud brick houses and poorly constructed buildings. • 90 present of Anwaran destroyed.

13. MUD BRICK HOUSES COLLAPSED

14. RUBBLE EVERYWHERE

15. BUILDINGS COLLAPSED

16. MAJESHIFT PROTECTION FROM THE SUN

17. EXTRACTING A CAR FROM THE RUBBLE

18. ANWARAN: A 12-BED HOSPITAL OVERWHELMED

19. OVERFLOW IN MAKESHIFT HOSPITAL

20. A GRIM OUTLOOK • The death toll will likely increase. • You don’t need to be an earthquake engineer to know that an earthquake in this remote part of Pakistan, where homes are made of mud brick or rubble masonry, will lead to more building collapses and a much higher mortality and morbidity toll than for a similar earthquake in Italy or California.

21. SHAKING FELT OVER A WIDE AREA • People ran outside buildings in Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana and other towns and cities of the Sindh province, and as far away as Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. • Shaking was also felt in New Delhi and some other parts of northern India..

22. THE QUAKE WAS FELT STRONGLY IN KARACHI (710 km (430 miles))

23. KARACHI’S WORKDAY IS OVER

24. Long traffic jams were seen on the roads of Karachi as people, concerned about the inevitable aftershocks, left office early.

25. RELIEF Planning Good During First 24 Hours, but Implementation Slow during first 3 Days

26. LOCATION OF QUETTA, THE PROVENCIAL CAPITAL

27. RELIEF OPERATIONS PLANNING BEGAN IMMEDIATELY. . . BUT IMPLEMENTATION WAS SLOWED BY FACTORS RANGING FROM TRAFFIC JAMS TO A ROCKET ATTACK

28. QUICK RESPONSE • Province officials declared a state-of- emergency in Awaran, where 90 percent of Balochistan’s largest district was destroyed.

29. 90 PERCENT OF ANWARAN REDUCED TO RUBBLE

30. LOW MORALE IN STRICKEN REGION • People in the stricken area feel they have been neglected for decades – they cite lack of schools, roads, health care facilities, and civil provisions here as proof.

31. CURRENT PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS • “If the government had paid attention to these areas before the quake and built health and medical facilities (which are currently nonexistent), things would not have been so bad. • “Many of the critically injured will die because they are not receiving timely help.”

32. QUICK RESPONSE • The army planned to dispatch relief, rescue, and medical teams, 300 soldiers, and a helicopter to the worst-hit areas located seven to eight hours' drive from Quetta, the provincial capital

33. SOLDIERS LEAVING KARACHI: 710 KM FROM DISASTER ZONE

34. MILITARY LOADING SUPPLIES

35. A RELIEF TEAM LOADING SUPPLIES

36. HINDERANCES IN FIRST 24 HOURS • In the first 24 hours no one could reach the villages in the remote, hardest hit areas, and … • Most of the aid was stuck in Quetta, the provincial capital, because of concerns about security and internal civil strife in the impacted area.

37. SEPT. 25: RELIEF OPERATIONS SLOWED EVEN MORE • Two rockets were fired unsuccessfully from the ground at a military helicopter taking relief supplies to the stricken areas; • Understandably, operations thereafter were slowed and many villages have not received help

38. MILITARY HELICOPTER

39. A 2013 WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY? • Local social workers say September 2013 could be an opportune moment for the government to win the hearts and minds of those who are disillusioned. .

40. A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY? (Continued) • “It is a great opportunity to reach out to the locals through aid, and it is never too late to show them that you care,” said Mohammad Dawood, who heads the National Welfare Organization, a local nongovernmental organization in Balochistan, and who has been attempting to provide aid in the stricken area.

41. REMEMBERING THE 2008 EARTHQUAKE IN PAKISTAN

42. 2008 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

43. 2008 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE • The earthquake struck near Quetta, the capitol of Baluchistan Province. • Quetta, hit by a devastating earthquake in 1935, is located in a known fault zone caused by ongoing collision of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates.

44. 2008 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE • Ziarat, located in the hills and one of the poorest areas of Pakistan, was devastated by landslides and collapse of mud brick houses. • Early estimates indicate that as many as 12,000 are now homeless in 40 degree weather.

45. 2008 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

46. 2008 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

47. 2008 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

48. 2008 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

49. 2008 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE: LEAVING WITH BELONGINGS

50. 2008 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE: RESCUE WORKERS ARRIVE