At least a dozen homes have been destroyed following a landslide that hit the village of Pasala in the Abbotabad District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan, on Monday 11 May 2020. There are no reports of any casualties associated with the event, although a number of people have been made homeless and are staying with other residents of the village.
Damage caused by a landslide in the village of Pasala in the Abbotabad District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan, on Monday 11 May 2020. HRNW News Agency.
Flooding and landslides are common at this time of year in northern
Pakistan, despite typically low rainfall, as rising temperatures at the start of summer lead to
thawing snow and ice in the mountains of the region. The Himalayan provinces of Pakistan are extremely prone to landslides, due to a
number of active faults in the area, these being driven by the northward
movement of the Indian Plate, which is pushing into Eurasia at a rate
of 40 mm a year. This causes earthquakes on both plates, as well as the
folding and uplift that has created the Himalayas and the Tibetan
Plateau.
The approximate location of the 11 May 2020 Pasala landslide. Google Maps.
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