Victims of the devasting October 8, 2005 earthquake are being remembered on Monday, which marks the 13th memorial of the earthquake, which left nearly 100,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless besides destroying the basic infrastructure.
Special prayers were =offered in mosques in Bagh District at Fajr for the departed souls. Moreover, a moment of silence was observed at 8:52 am in remembrance of the victims at the Muzaffargarh University’s ground, where a memorial was also held.
In Balakot, shops and business centres are closed and special prayers are being offered.
On October 8, 2005, a 7.6 magnitude quake ripped through the region, killing an estimated 75,000, wounding 128,000 and displacing another 3.5 million.
The earthquake left a trail of death and destruction, primarily in Azad Kashmir and Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Most of the victims were from poor families living in small and dilapidated houses and buildings. Old mud houses caved in when the earthquake struck. Broken walls or collapsed roofs were reported from numerous villages in most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
