MORNING OF OCTOBER 8, 2005 by Amjad Waheed Qureshi

The morning of October 8, 2005 observed shocks of severe intensity. The epicenter of these shocks was 95 km NE of Islamabad (location 34.493°N, 73.629°E). Keeping in consideration the above mentioned epicenter it is concluded that the earthquake originated in the Hazara Kashmir Syntaxis (HKS) near Muzaffarabad. The major thrust running through this area is Main Boundary Thrust, very precisely Murree Fault can be predicted as the source of this earthquake. This fault continues northwestward, turns westward near the apex of the HKS and then bends southward towards Balakot and dips 50 o to 70 o E. northwest of Muzaffarabad. (Some authors have referred it to Jehlum Fault and Kashmir Boundary Thrust etc and is linked to Indus Kohistan Seismic Zone in the north). Southward it steepens to 70 o E and locally it is vertical. This Fault runs also in an E-W direction south of Margalla Hills. Geological history and geological positioning of this fault further advocates that this displacement among the faulted block was at shallow depth around 9 to 12 kilometers. The earthquake history in the north Pakistan further suggests that the area lies in a seismic active zone where damage by an earthquake could be expected causing loss to property and mankind.

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