Six years ago, on 26th January 2001, a powerful earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale devastated the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is the second most deadly earthquake to strike India, the largest being in 1737. The earthquake struck at approximately 8.46am local time, its epicenter located 80 kilometers north-east of the city of Bhuj (1).
Gujarat earthquake epicenter (7)
Most earthquakes occur along the edges of the oceanic and continental plates where two plates are running past each other or sliding past each other.When two plates rub or collide against each other, immense pressure builds up. Earthquake results with severe ground shaking when the rocks separating the plates break (3). The Bhuj earthquake took place because of the tremendous pressure released after a collision margin took place. This collision margin is formed by the movement of Indian tectonic plate in the north direction and collision with the Eurasian tectonic plate. Bhuj earthquake is considered an intraplate earthquake which is an earthquake within the tectonic plate because it occurred a great distance from any plate boundary (2). As a result, a fault ruptured through the small town of Manfara, about 50 miles east of Bhuj. Earthquakes can also occur along faults. Faults are cracks in the earth caused by the bumping and sliding of two plates which can be near or from the plate boundaries (4).
Most earthquakes occur along (8)
Collision of Indian plate and Eurasian plate(2)
Bhuj earthquake affected, directly or indirectly, 15.9 million people out of a total Indian population of 37.8 million. 19,727 people died and 166,000 people were injured. Around 600,000 people were left homeless, with 348,000 houses destroyed and an additional 844,000 damaged. The worst damage was caused in eastern Kachch, 75% of the city destroyed, 12,250 animals’ dead, and the town of Bhachau was almost completely destroyed (1). These rural villages are mostly made up farmers who depend hugely on agriculture and cattle. They are too poor to move or unwilling to leave the culture and heritage of the place. In Ahmedabad, Gujarat's commercial capital and a city of 4.5 million, about 50 multistory buildings collapsed and several hundred people were killed. There was significant damage to infrastructure with facilities such as hospitals, schools, electric power and water systems, bridges and roads damaged or destroyed. Several hospitals collapsed in Bhuj killing medical professional and patients, causing difficulty in treating the injured people. Over 70% of the schools in the region were also destroyed, which could otherwise be used for relief efforts. All telecommunication link of the epicenter region with the rest of state was disrupted, so credible information about the impact of this earthquake was not available to the concerned authority at the state and central government for several hours after the earthquake (5).
The remains of Bhachau (7)
Most deaths were caused by the buildings collapsing, a result of the corrupt builders using inferior materials during constructions. And poor farmers with large families’ incapability for spending money for good constructions of houses lead to more damage. If the buildings were strongly constructed, many deaths could have been avoided. The government of India was not prepared for such a disastrous earthquake that the relief aids couldn’t be sent immediately. If they were prepared, relief teams could have arrived quickly and saved lives of many injured or trapped under the buildings. If the rural villages had more telephone communication, information to the government would have reached quicker and not taken several hours.
Earthquakes tend to have a greater impact in Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) than More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs). Buildings in More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs) are more likely to withstand an earthquake, because they might have seismic isolators and deep foundations to withstand tremors. Where as, in LEDCs the buildings are often of poor design because of cost. This is one reason why earthquake damage in LEDCs is usually greater. MEDCs are more likely to have well trained emergency services that act quickly in contrast to LEDCs which lack plans in response to disasters. This means people are not rescued as quickly as in MEDCs. LEDCs often have to rely on aid from MEDCs to assist in responding to earthquakes which can take up to several days to arrive (6).
In the case of Bhuj earthquake, though India relied on international aids, the relief efforts within the country started even before the aids arrived. The national and state governments quickly provided assistance in forms of cash, medical supplies, shelters, food, clothing, transport and relief workers. More than 185 non-government organizations (NGOs) provided assistance with trained personals and volunteers. Search and rescue teams soon arrived from Switzerland, United Kingdom, Russia and Turkey to find and rescue survivors buried under debris. Relief teams and supplies arrived from 38 countries as well as United Nations agencies and many international NGOs such as the Red Cross. Money from various countries was donated to NGOs to rebuild the damaged areas. In Gujarat, people are designing and building their new homes with great care to with stand further earthquakes and cyclones. . The windows are strengthened with steel frames and are lower to provide better ventilation. Water collection, surface pools and shallow wells are being built in remote villages as they depend on water transported by trucks (7).
Red Cross volunteers handing out supplies of food
and household equipment at Chotadinara (7)
January 26, 2001 calamity in Gujarat has taught some bitter lessons to the people and government of India. This incident showcased the poor constructions of building due to costs and lack of government assistance. All of the activities by NGOs and governments have positively impacted well over 250 villages and towns in Gujarat and support development of the entire region through many rehabilitation, outreach and healthcare programs. International aid proved to be a great help for the relief efforts. Till date, there is some to be rebuilt in Gujarat as the state is still recovering.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. 6 January 2001 Bhuj earthquake, Gujarat, India." 22 Nov 2007 .cires.colorado.edu/~bilham/Gujarat2001.html
2. George , Pararas-Carayannis. "THE EARTHQUAKE OF 25 JANUARY 2001 IN GUJARAT, INDIA." Disaster pages. 22 Nov 2007 . www.drgeorgepc.com/Earthquake2001India.html
3. "How earthquakes happen." 25 February, 2007 22 November,2007 .http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4126809.stm
4. "Fault (geology)." Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 2007. 22 Nov 2007 . en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fault_%28geology%29
5. 22 Nov 2007 . www.civil.iitb.ac.in/BhujEarthquake/Chapter.01.pdf
6. "What factors influence the effects and response to tectonic activity? ." Internet Geography. 22 Nov 2007 . www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/earthquakes_impact_response.html
7. "Indian Gujarat Earthquake, 26 January 2001." Global Education. 24 February, 2007. 22 Nov 2007 . www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/1248
8. www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/images/plates.gif
