Chipursan Valley is a narrow stretch of land located in the Gojal Sub-Division of District Hunza in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region. Bordering the Wakhan Corridor of Central Asia, the valley is home to a majority of Wakhi-speaking communities spread across almost a dozen villages and small settlements.
North-west of Sost, the last major town on the Karakoram Highway, Chipursan Valley is connected to the rest of Hunza by an unpaved road that is highly vulnerable to natural hazards, including landslides, floods, and rockfalls. This fragile connectivity often leaves the valley isolated during extreme weather and seismic events.
According to local oral memory, the valley has been inhabited for hundreds of years. People from the neighboring Wakhan Valley, and the broader Badakhshan region, have been settled in the for centuries. No written records are available due to which multiple narratives exist about the origin of human population in the area.
What happened in Chipursan Valley?
After experiencing frequent tremors for over two months, the valley was struck by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake, causing widespread destruction in the villages of Zoodkhun and Shetmerg.
Houses and other properties were also damaged in neighboring villages, but the scale of destrucation was felt the most in Zoodkhun and Shetmerg.
Around 300 houses were either destroyed or damaged to varying degrees, per initial assessments, according to the Local Support Organization. Two children sustained injuries as homes collapsed or were violently shaken during what is believed to be the most intense earthquake in the region’s recorded history.
villages of Chipursan Valley
Pastures
