Natural Disasters and Built Environment

An Ethnography of Destruction Caused by the Earthquake (2005) in Balakot, Pakistan

Abstract

This article explores the vulnerability of the built environment of Balakot valley. The geological location of the valley at the junction of several fault lines and the two larger tectonic plates makes it vulnerable. When the earthquake of 2005 struck the valley, massive destruction was caused because the built environment had not evolved in comparison to the vulnerability faced by the valley. In this article, we employ an ethnographic method to study the built environment in the valley and shed light on the causes of destruction.