“EARTHQUAKE IN GUJARAT”

26th January, 2001

Hazard Vulnerability of India
Indian subcontinent : among the world’s most disaster prone areas

Population : more than 10,00,000,000peoples

•54% of Land Vulnerable to Earthquake
•21% of land Vulnerable to Drought
•8% of Land vulnerable to Cyclones
•5% of Land vulnerable to Floods

Earthquakes
•12%of Land is liable to very severe earthquake (MSK IX
or more)
•18 % of Land liable to severe earthquake (MSKVIII)
•25% of Land liable to damageable earthquake (MSK VII)
Biggest quakes in:Andamans, Kuchchh, himachal, Kashmir,
North Bihar, and North East)
Earthquake hazard zoning of India
Zone 5 (very High damage risk zone MSK IX or more)
 Kashmir and Western Himalayas).Central Himalayas
region
 North-East Indian region
 Cambey and Rann of Kutch .
Zone 4 (High damage risk zone MSK VIII)
 .Indo-Gangetic basin and Rajasthan region
(Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi parts of U.P. plain,
Bihar and Bengal)
Zone 3 (Moderate damage risk zone MSK VII)
. Andaman - Nicobar Ireland Kashmir and Western
Himalayas (It's including the J& K, Himachal Pradesh,
and the parts of Punjab)
Zone 2 (Low damage risk zone MSK VI)
 Southern region(Tamil Nadu and their adjoining area
Zone 1 (Very Low damage risk zone MSK V or low)
 Peninsular India including the Iceland of Lakshdweep
Gujarat Earthquake
Date of Occurrence :26th January 2001

 Time : 8:46 A.M.

 Magnitude : 6.9 on the Richter Scale
 (7.7 as per US Geological Survey)
 Epicenter : 23.60 North Latitude and 69.80 East
Longitude
 20 Kms North East of Bhuj,
 110 kms North-East of Jamnagar
 Shock felt Upto Nepal in East, Chennai in South and J&K in North
 One of the worst to have occurred in the country during the last
180 years for which seismological records available.
Epicenter and affected district of
Gujarat

epicenter
HISTORY OF EARTHQUAKES IN KUTCH REGION
Kutch region falls in seismic zone V
Max. Intensity Earthquake in 1819 (8.0 intensity on Richter scale)

Sl. No. Year Area Affected Intensity

1 1668 Sindhu Delta 7.6
2 1819 Great Runn of Kutch 8.0
3 1845 Lakhpat 6.0
4 1903 Great Runn of Kutch 6.0
5 1904 Great Runn of Kutch 5.8-6.0
6 1956 Anjar 7.0

Causes -Major active faults- (Katrol, kutch, bumni & Allale-

Bund)
DAMAGES AT A GLANCE

CASUALITIES DEATHS DISTRICT DEATHS

 Ahmedabad 752
 Anand
•Kutch 18,498
1
 Banaskantha 32 •Navsari 17
 Bharuch 9 •Patan 38
 Gandhinagr 8
 Jamnagar
•Porbandar 10
119
 Junagrh 8 •Rajkot 433
•Surat 46
•Surendranagar 110
Total Causalities 20,086 •vadodara 1
Seriously Injured 20717
 Damages of the Quake at a Glance
Area
 No of affected District : 21
 Severely affected districts : 6(Kutch, Patan, Ahmedabad, Jamnagr, Rajkot, Surendranagar)
 No of Towns affected :18
 no. Of Talukas affected :182
 Highly affected Talukas :17( Bhuj, Rapar, Bhachau, Anjar, Gandhidham & Mundra in Kutch district; Morbi, maliya-
Miyana, Wankner in Rajkot; Jodiya in Jamnagar; Santalpur & Sami in Patan; Halvad, Dhangadhara and Dasada in
Surendranagar; Daskori and Ahmedabad City in Ahmedaad District)

 No of villages affected :7904

Population

Population affected :15.8 Million

Human Lives Killed :20086
Persons Injured :166836
Seriously Injured :20177
Housing

Total Houses Damaged :1.2

Million
Pucca Houses Destroyed :159960
Pucca Houses Damaged :399346
Kachcha Houses Destroyed :148339
Kachcha Houses Damaged :295061
Huts Destroyed :13889
Huts Damaged :31395
Infrastructure Damages

Telecommunication :

 47 exchanges of Kutch
 25 exchange of Rajkot
 4 exchange of Jamnagar
 3 exchange of Surendranagar
 Power

 45 Substation of Kutch
 255 feeders affected
 9 towns and 925 villages blacked out
Water Supply
• Disrupted in 10 towns of Kutch
•8 towns of Rajkot, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad,
Surendranagar
Roads and railway links

 Surajbari bridge linking Kutch district to

Rajkot damaged.
 Railway tracks between Dhrangardhra and
Nalia (330 Kms.) seriously damaged
 Palanpur -Samakhiyali (210kms.)affected
 Hapa-okha line damaged
Industry

 10.000 small and medium Industrial units went

out of production.
 Handicraft in Kutch suffered enormously
 50,000 artisans lost their livelihood
 Severe losses for tiles and ceramic units

Education
• 1500 Schools destroyed
 EMERGENCY RESCUE & RELIEF
OPERATION (STATE GOVERNMENT)

* Large Scale mobilization of manpower, equipment, earthquake

machinery
* Relief operation involved 1152 JCBs/ Cranes, 543 Bulldozers, 2853
Dumpers/ Trucks, 901 Gas cutters, 2104 Technical persons, 6213
non- technical persons, 13353 Labourers
* 763 specialist Doctors, 1834 Medical Officers, 2500 Para-medical
Staff
* 1.66 lakh injured persons treated
* Free Kitchen kit distributed (50 kg Wheat/ Flour , 3kg Rice, one litre
edibleoil, potato and onion etc.)
* 6 lakh blankets, 2.50 lakh tents/ shelter material distributed.
* Cash doles Rs. 1250/- per family (for household kit)
* Rs. 250/- per family per month
IMMEDIATE RELIEF OPERATION
(BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA)

 Additional Central Relief Commissioner led a Team of 22 Doctors,

with life saving drug, satellites phone , IMD equipment etc. to make
an on the spot appraisal of the situation and response.
 P. M. announced ad-hoc grant of Rs. 500 crore - Rs. 330 crore
subsequently from NCCF.
 23,500 Army troups and 3000 paramilitary forces,48 aircrafts and 3
ships deployed.
 Satellite phone, HAM Radio , Mobile Phone pressed into service.
 Telecom and Railway Services restored by first week of
February.
 Civil Aviation arranged free transport in-side and out side the
country.
 Issue of 15 days visa for foreign teams
 Relaxation of Over Draft Regulation Scheme.
 Allocation of 1 lakh tone food grains and release of 10 thousand
M.T. sugar.
 Allotment of adequate quantity of diesel and kerosene
 Provide 19 DG sets to Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB)
 Powergrid/ NTPC Assisted GEB in repairing electricity /
installations
 PFC and REC sanctioned Rs. 200 crore loan for repair.
 In addition various central ministries extended financial and other
assistance from ongoing programmes / schemes.
 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF
MANAGEMENT RESPONSE

 Search and Rescue:

 Iflife saving activities are to be successful, there is need
for a first responder, police, emergency medical systems,
the need for a well trained, properly equipped, well
coordinated and rapid search and rescue capability.
 To locate and rescue the trapped victims in structures are
complicated, dangerous, time & labour intensive, which
require special skills and equipment.
 In addition to the huge cost and time-consuming exercise
of debris clearance its disposal posed a major challenge.
Response Issues

• In addition, the time is also a critical factor in disaster-related

injuries and victim survival rates. Post earthquake studies have
demonstrated that the first 24 hours following the event represents the
golden window of time in which survival rates is higher.The
correlation between positive victim survival rates and the rapidity at
which the victim is located and rescued underscores the need for a
sophisticated urgent search and rescue capability.

• A rapid response with a resource that can size up structures

and form a plan for search and rescue operations which
includes coordinated building triangle, victim location determination,
prioritization, rescue, extrication and treatment is essential.
Relief Issues

 From the recent experiences, though civil administration

remains an integral part in post disaster response action,
the armed forces are still leading in this area. This recurring
trend proves the point that the Civil Disaster Management
System (DMS) is not really effective, despite a repetitive history
of natural disasters. Secondly the efficiency of the civil DMS is
also a handicap. There is a temptation on the part of the
state governments to requisition of armed forces even
before using their own resources or to cover
contingencies. Therefore it is essential that the Disaster
Management plan to be so structured and calibrated that
the armed forces are requisitioned only when the scale of
disasters is beyond the resources and capabilities of the
civil administration.
•Secondly the efficiency and coordination of
the response actions of the civil administration
has been hampered due to lack of specialized
human resource and state of the art equipment
and machinery.

•Thirdly, the lack of automatic activation of the

Disaster Management system is the main
handicap of the civil administration.
Rehabilitation Issues

 The earthquake brought in its wake untold destruction -

loss of life and property,
 fragmentation and decimation of families. It has left
thousands seriously injured, bruised and handicapped-
both physically and psychologically. It caused terror in
the minds of so many people who were experiencing this
for the first time. Many people had trauma, failed kidneys,
heart disease and other response associated with the
quake. Therefore concerted efforts is required for long-
term rehabilitation of those that have suffered permanent
injury of serious nature and in mental trauma. The
economic rehabilitation of the families, who have lost
their earning members, needs special attention.
•Temporary shelters should be provided on a priority basis to
those who have been rendered homeless as the rebuilding
and reconstruction process would take long time. The
arrangement should be made for their suitable relocation.

• During reconstruction, focus should be given on earthquake

resistant housing. The objectives of resettlement objectives
should be to ensure socially, culturally and economically
self-sustaining communities in an environment, which
include appropriate housing, and civic amenities and address
issues in relation to essential infrastructure.
•The small-scale industry sector has suffered serious damage in
the affected districts. Many artisans have suffered damage to their
work-sheds and houses.

•The priority should be given on rehabilitating this sector as it

employs large number of rural populace. In addition, efforts
should be made to market the products of this sector in order to
continue the production and creation of job opportunity.

• The impact o the quake was so severe that the lifeline

infrastructure has suffered massive damage. Therefore, disaster
resistant designs and constructions must be promoted so that it can
withstand future disasters.
•Industrial buildings in Kandla Free Trade Zone have been
damaged. The salt industry has suffered set back. Greater
significance is the loss due to stoppage of production. The
Plant Operating Efficiency is seriously dented due to migration
of the labour. Therefore, rehabilitation of industrial sector
needs careful attention. Otherwise it will have a serious
economic impact not only o the local people but also will
effect export business.

•Animal husbandry is also an important economic activity in

the affected area. Therefore, it is required to sustain this
infrastructure and ensure health of the animal population
doesn’t deteriorate.
 Information and Communication Issues

 One of the main reasons for slow response after the quake was lack of
credible information from the affected areas.
 The initial information about the region, including its demographic,
geographic and economic data is already available. But the little information
that had been compiled in a GIS format of the Kutch region was not
available in the state government for planning. Gujarat earthquake has
thrown tremendous challenges to the information systems community of this
country.
 While damage due to such disasters can only be reduced by implementing
structural and non structural measures, the response mechanism following a
disaster can be made more effective by taking assistance of GIS based tools.
It is therefore that a suitable database and tools be developed for different
regions of the country. The database will require constant updating
Scientific, Engineering and Technical
Issues:

In India, most of the fundamental data sets required for hazard

mapping are available, but at low resolutions. Also these data
sets are held by different agencies and rarely if ever
disseminated even within their organization, much less to the
pubic at large.

. The government could have focused its efforts on educating

the population on how to react and respond during an
earthquake. Builders may have been more careful about
adhering to the building code and inspections and approvals
of plans may have been slightly more stringent
 SWOT ANALYSIS

Relief

Strength :Good community response in

search and Rescue of the peoples.
:Good Administrative framework
of the state
:Volunteer Response from all over
the world
Weakness
: Lack of technical Knowledge of the Instrument,
equipments, trained people etc.
: Lack of Training in rescue operations
: Lack of professionals and Trained people
: Building Constructed by ignoring the Building Bylaws
(Such as F.S.I., Height and seismicity of place)
Opportunities
: Options for Rehabilitation of the victims in
earthquake resistant houses
: Private sector involvement
: Community Participation's
: Professionals Participation
: Knowledge based Disaster Preparedness
programme by involvement of various
National and International NGOs
Threats

: Casual approach
: Overconfidence “We will see when it
happens”
: Lack of pro-active approach
Rehabilitation Activity:

Strength :Assistance received

from International and
National level and other Donor
agencies
:Govt. Land available for
the rehabilitation Programme
: Rehabilitation Packages
implemented with the involvement of
local Community
Weakness

: Lack of technical Knowledge of Earthquake

resistant Technology
: Lack of Fund to the State.
: Conflict in selecting the Land for Rehabilitation
of the Site.
: Lack of Knowledge of the seismicity of the place
: No improvement of Existing Building Bylaws
for the multistoried building
Opportunity

: New Opportunity for the private and public partnership

in rehabilitation of the Gujarat.
: Testing opportunity for the new techniques of the
earthquake resistant construction technology.
: Community Participation
: Training to Community towards
* Awareness of disaster * preparedness.
*Rescue Operation *Relief Activity
*Rehabilitation processes.
Threats

: Poor environment for enforcement of building laws

and regulations

:Nexus between govt., private builders combined with

lack of public awareness and education
Lessons learnt
 There are several active fault systems in Kutch region. In
order to build an effective decision support system there is a
need for Damage assessment/ damage estimation tool for
emergency operation centers, Preparation of multi hazard
micro-zoning maps, emergency and backup communication
system

 It has been observed that in spite of a large part of Gujarat

and most of Kutch belonging to zone V of the seismic map,
there has been no attempt to build a proper decision
support system for providing effective government actions
after earthquake.
 Leassons learnt ----contd-

•This quake provided numerous examples of geo-technical

and structural failures. These include collapse of modern
RCC frame buildings and damage to earthen dams,
bridges and other industrial facilities. So detail studies are
required to investigate in to the exact cause of failures.
•Looking at the complexity of the incident Management
coupled with the growing need for multi- agency and
multifunctional involvement on incidents has increased
the need for a single standard incident management
system that can be used by all emergency response
disciplines.
 Leassons learnt ----contd-

Gujarat earthquake has happened, where we are now is

window of opportunity to learn from this disaster and to work
to never let it happen. There is need to launch a National
Earthquake Mitigation Program that should incorporate the
following components:

A Program for retrofitting of buildings with a process of

finance and demonstration.
Enforcement of land use restrictions.
Formulation of Building codes for different seismic zones and
their implementation on a priority basis.
Strengthening of the search and Rescue capability in the
country.
 Leassons learnt ----contd-

 Recognizing the fact that hazard mitigation pays

high social and economic dividends. Therefore,
measures must be seen as investment and not a
luxury that may or may not be affordable.
Development models must have in-built
components of disaster reduction, mitigation and
preparedness
 Leassons learnt ----contd-

•Disaster Insurance.
•Community Awareness and Education.
•Earthquake Museum.
•Community Disaster learning Centre.
•Disaster learning Course in Schools.
•National and State Training facilities for Council of
Social Science Research.
-----Thank you-----