Earthquakes and Associated Landslides in Pakistan

Pakistan is divided into five major seismotectonic provinces: Pamir–Hindu Kush, Karakoram–Himalaya (further divided into three seismic zones: Kashmir–Himalayas–Indus Kohistan, Nanga Parbat and Darel–Harman Kohistan), Axial Belt, Makran and Rann of Kuchchh. Pakistan has experienced some of the most severe earthquakes, such as the 1840 Nanga Parbat, 1945 Makran (Mw 8.1), 1974 Pattan (Mb 6.0), 2002 Nanga Parbat (Mb 5.3 and 6.2) and 2005 Kashmir (Mw 7.6) earthquakes. These seismic events triggered numerous, in some cases thousands of, mass movements; some of these landslides resulted in blockages of rivers and the creation of dangerous lakes. For example, the 1841 Liachar landslide blocked the Indus River for 6 months, the 2005 Hattian Bala landslide blocked two tributaries of the Jhelum River, and the 2010 post-seismic Attabad landslide blocked the Hunza River, creating a ~21 km long lake that eventually overtopped its dam. As a result of mostly high population densities in potentially risky terrain and poor building codes or poor enforcement of them, earthquakes in Pakistan repeatedly result in high numbers of casualties; the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the most devastating in Pakistani history, caused more than 80,000 fatalities and more than 69,000 injuries.