| Date | January 26, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 7.7 Mw[1] |
| Depth | 16 kilometres (10 mi) |
| Epicenter | Yellow star marks epicentre [2] |
| Countries or regions | India |
| Max. intensity | X(Intense) |
| Casualties | 19,727 believed dead, 166,001 injured [3] |
The 2001 Gujarat earthquake occurred on January 26, 2001, India's 52nd Republic Day, at 08:46 AM local time (3:16 UTC) and lasted for over two minutes. The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari[3] in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District of Gujarat, India.[4] The earthquake reached a magnitude of between 7.6 and 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum felt intensity of X (Intense) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The quake killed around 20,000 people (including 18 in South eastern Pakistan), injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes.[5]
This was an intraplate earthquake, one that occurred at a distance from any plate boundary where plate tectonics create most earthquakes, so the area was not well prepared. The event was the result of stored energy in a collision margin. The shock waves spread 700 km. 21 districts were affected and 600,000 people left homeless.
The final death toll in Kutch was 12,290. Bhuj, situated only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the epicenter, was devastated. Considerable damage also occurred in Bhachau and Anjar with hundreds of villages flattened in Taluka of Anjar, Bhuj & Bhachau. Over a million structures were damaged or destroyed, including many historic buildings and tourist attractions.[6] The quake destroyed around 40% of homes, eight schools, two hospitals and 4 km of road in Bhuj and partly destroyed the city's historic Swaminarayan temple and historic fort as well Prag Mahal and Aina Mahal. In Ahmedabad, Gujarat's commercial capital with a population of 4.6 million, as many as 50 multi-storied buildings collapsed and several hundred people were killed. Total property damage was estimated at $5.5 billion and rising. The earthquake destroyed 60% of usable food and water supplies in Kutch.
The district collector Anil Mukim oversaw the early delivery of aid and equipment to affected villages but later called for aid to cease as it encouraged a "relief mentality" which would delay a return to normal life.[7]
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