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Himalayan Geology, Vol. 30 (1), 2009, pp.75-84 Printed in India
Historical record of Earthquakes in the Kashmir Valley
BASHIR AHMAD, M.I. BHAT*, B.S. BALI
Dept. of Geology & Geophysics, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India
Abstract: Researches aimed at enriching the record of earthquakes in
a region have an important role in earthquake hazard assessment, especially
for earthquake-prone regions like Kashmir Valley. This is usually done
through the study of historical documents and/or paleoseismological studies;
the latter allows access far beyond historical records. Kashmir has the
distinction of having written history that goes back to almost 5,000 years,
which makes it a very attractive bet for a search for historical
earthquakes. However, the study of these historical records, particularly
the Sanskrit records, like Nilamata Purana and Rajatarangi, which cover 70%
of the recorded history of Kashmir, reveals a distressing absence of truly
historical events, being mostly concerned with kings and cultural customs.
In all we located mentioned of 17 earthquakes in the historical documents.
Of these, only three earthquakes (in 2082-2041 BC, 844 AD and 1123 AD) find
mention in the Sanskrit documents; the rest are mentioned mostly in the
Persian records that begin from 16th century. Description of earthquakes,
however, is sketchy. While some of the earthquakes may have their epicenters
outside the Kashmir Valley, a few which caused severe damage to life and
property and were associated with ground ruptures and long periods of
aftershocks do appear to have been generated within the Valley. Srinagar and
north Kashmir appear to have been repeatedly and severely affected by most
of the earthquakes, possibly indicating role of three faults that the river
Jehlum follows from its source in the south Kashmir to the Wular Lake via
Baramulla and Uri gorge to Muzaffarabad.
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