Psychological effects of attaabad natural disaster on upstream communities of upper Hunza, district Hunza-Nagar, Pakistan

This paper examine psychological impacts of 2010 Attaabad landslide induced lake on upstream communities of upper Hunza. Natural hazards are unexpected, occur suddenly, and cause widespread damage are understood to be traumatic and associated with a high degree of psychological disturbance. The affected people psychologically are most often seen as having significantly disrupted in their life activities which require lengthy period for the recovery. The primary data has collected from four villages which were directly or indirectly affected due to Attaabad landslide and its induced lake. The analysis revealed that majority of the respondents (95%) in the area has been directly or indirectly affected by the landslide hazard. For data collection some psychological based questions were developed regarding the psychological effects of the disaster on community. Studies have shown that posttraumatic stress symptoms rates increased due to severity of the disaster. Persons who directly suffered in this natural disaster are likely to have more symptoms than those who indirectly suffered from the disaster. These events almost always result in additive and interactive stressors which may contribute to symptoms of psychological distress weeks, months and even years after the disaster.