Earthquake Encounters

Pakistan: first-hand account of the earthquake

Raza Hamdani, ICRC media officer in Islamabad, gives his account of the disaster that wrecked havoc throughout the region Saturday 8 October in the first hours of the morning.

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Escape from the epicentre

When it happened, I had no idea how close I was and how much of a disaster it would turn out to be.

We had planned this trekking trip around the beautiful Neelam Valley for ages.


The day the earth shook

“SAVE me, Abbu, Ammi. Please help me come out.” As long as I am alive, these painful words uttered by Umair Maqbool, the brilliant 18-year-old son of my maternal uncle, will continue to haunt me. Umair was shouting from beneath the huge concrete mass of his house that had collapsed moments after the earthquake struck Muzaffarabad and adjoining areas on Oct 8.


From Abbottabad

Yes I do live in Abbottabad. Its my home town.

I shall never forget the moments of earthquake. The way we were frightened and running out of houses and schools, colleges. It was like the world is going to end for us.


Earthquake rocks Islamabad

Today, the nation of Pakistan came face to face with both its most shocking day in history as well as one of its biggest challenges yet. Earlier this morning around 9 am, the northern regions were violently shook by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Thousands were killed across the continent from either mudslides or building collapse, and the death toll which is expected to rise significantly, already stands at 20,000.