The 2005 Kashmir earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.6. It struck on October 8, 2005, at 8:50 a.m. Pakistan Standard Time, with its epicenter near Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir.
The earthquake occurred where the Indian Plate is being forced beneath the Eurasian Plate. Its reverse-slip movement produced severe upward thrusting, a surface rupture about 75 kilometers long, and thousands of landslides across the mountainous region.
The shaking affected Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. Muzaffarabad and Balakot suffered especially heavy destruction, while the shallow depth of roughly 15 kilometers worsened the damage. The earthquake also generated major aftershocks, including events measuring 6.4.
It is often described as a “7.6 on the Richter scale,” but modern scientific reporting generally uses moment magnitude, written Mw 7.6. Death-toll estimates vary because official counts and later assessments differed, but tens of thousands died and millions were displaced.