2001 Gujarat earthquake

2001 Gujarat earthquake
Date 26 January 2001 (2001-01-26)
Origin time 03:16 UTC
Magnitude 7.7 Mw[1]
Depth 16 kilometres (10 mi)
Epicenter 23°25′08″N 70°13′55″E / 23.419°N 70.232°E / 23.419; 70.232[2]
Type Oblique-slip
Areas affected India, Pakistan
Max. intensity X (Intense)
Casualties 13,805–20,023 dead[3][4]
~ 166,800 injured[4]
Gujarat Earthquake Relief by RSS Volunteers

The 2001 Gujarat earthquake occurred on 26 January, India's 52nd Republic Day, at 08:46 AM IST and lasted for over 2 minutes. The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District of Gujarat, India.[5] The intraplate earthquake reached 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum felt intensity of X (Intense) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The earthquake killed between 13,805 and 20,023 people (including 18 in southeastern Pakistan), injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes.[6]

Tectonic setting

Gujarat lies about 400 km from the plate boundary between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate, but the current tectonics is still governed by the effects of the continuing continental collision along this boundary. During the break-up of Gondwana in the Jurassic, this area was affected by rifting with a roughly west-east trend. During the collision with Eurasia the area has undergone shortening, involving both reactivation of the original rift faults and development of new low-angle thrust faults. The related folding has formed a series of ranges, particularly in central Kutch. The focal mechanism of most earthquakes is consistent with reverse faulting on reactivated rift faults. The pattern of uplift and subsidence associated with the 1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake is consistent with reactivation of such a fault. The 2001 Gujarat earthquake was caused by movement on a previously unknown south-dipping fault, trending parallel to the inferred rift structures.[7]

Effects

The death toll in the Kutch region was 12,300. Bhuj, which was situated only 20km away 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.[8] 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 5.6 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. In Kutch, the earthquake destroyed about 60% of food and water supplies and around 258,000 houses – 90% of the district's housing stock. The biggest setback was the total demolition of the Bhuj Civil hospital. The Indian military provided emergency support which was later augmented by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. A temporary Red Cross hospital remained in Bhuj to provide care while a replacement hospital was built.[9]

U.S. Air Force personnel unload relief supplies destined for earthquake victims in India from a C-5A Galaxy at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on Feb. 3, 2001. Tons of relief supplies are being flown to Andersen where they will be loaded onto C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for transport to India to aid victims of the earthquake.

Memorial

Smritivan, a memorial park and museum dedicated to victims of the earthquake was built atop Bhujia hill. 13,805 trees dedicated to each victim were planted in the garden and 108 small water reservoirs were created on the hill.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ M7.7 Bhuj " Republic Day " Earthquake, 2001
  2. ↑ NGDC. "Comments for the Significant Earthquake". Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  3. 1 2 Ray, Joydeep (April 16, 2004). "Gujarat to set up quake memorial in Bhuj". Business Standard.
  4. 1 2 USGS (4 September 2009), PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey
  5. ↑ Gupta, HARSH K., et al. "Bhuj earthquake of 26 January, 2001." JOURNAL-GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF INDIA 57.3 (2001): 275-278.
  6. ↑ "Preliminary Earthquake Report". USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  7. ↑ Bodin, P.; Horton S. (2004). "Source Parameters and Tectonic Implications of Aftershocks of the Mw 7.6 Bhuj Earthquake of 26 January 2001" (PDF). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (Seismological Society of America) 94 (3): 818–827. Bibcode:2004BuSSA..94..818B. doi:10.1785/0120030176. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  8. ↑ Interdisciplinary Observations on The January 2001 Bhuj, Gujarat Earthquake
  9. ↑ John M. Eidinger, ed. (2001). Gujarat (Kutch) India M7.7 Earthquake of January 26, 2001. Reston, VA: ASCE, TCLEE. ISBN 9780784405840.

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