2001 GUJARAT EARTHQUAKE

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 2001 GUJARAT EARTHQUAKE
The 2001 Gujarat earthquake also known as Bhuj earthquake occurred on 26
January, India's 52nd Republic Day, at 08:46 AM IST and lasted for over 2 minutes. The
earthquake killed between 13,805 and 20,023 people (including 18 in southeastern
Pakistan), injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly When India was celebrating
its 52nd Republic Day on 26 January 2001, the western part of the country faced one of
the worst earthquakes in history.26 January 2015 marks the 14th anniversary of one of
the most devastating disasters that left nearly a million families homeless.

Date: 26 January 2001

Epicentre: SSW of Chobari, Gujarat
Time: [Link] UTC ([Link] IST)
Latitude: 23.442 (ISC)
Longitude: 70.310 E (ISC)
Depth: 16.0 kms (ISC)
Magnitude: Mw 7.7 (HRV), 7.6 (NEIC)
 I. LOCATION AND ORIGIN:

The epicenter was at 23.40 N 70.32 E, approximately 12.5 miles northeast of

the town of Bhachau and about 65 miles (110 km) NNE of Jamnagar. The quake's depth
was 23.6 km. Ground motions lasted about 90 seconds. Its tensor solution is given below
(source USGS).The quake was felt in New Delhi, 600 miles (966 kilometers)
away, where high rises swayed. It was also felt in Calcutta, 800 miles away, in Nepal and
in coastal Bangladesh 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) away. Strong aftershocks (more
than 300) continued to strike the Kutch district of Gujarat, in the days and weeks
following the main shock. One aftershock with 5.3-magnitude had its epicenter was 12.5
miles northeast of Bhachau, a town that was badly damaged by the main quake. The
aftershocks are expected to continue for many weeks and even months.
 Twenty one out of 25 districts in the state were totally destroyed and Kutch was
the worst affected district, followed by Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Rajkot
and Surendranagar. While many believed that Gujarat would take years to get back to
normal, the collective efforts of the people helped the state recover and a lot of praise was
heaped on the successful Gujarat Model of Development. The then Cheif Minister,
Narendra Modi was also appreciated for his government's involvement in the prosperity
of the state. Industrial as well as healthcare and education sector also reached new
heights.

I. YEAR:

 On 25 January 2001, a major earthquake occurred in Gujarat, a prosperous

industrial and agricultural state on India's west coast, close to the border with
Pakistan.

 According to the USGS, it occurred at 8:16 PM MST, Jan 25, 2001 (Jan 26 at 8:46
AM local time in India).

 The quake was the most powerful to strike this region of India in the last fifty
years. It was also the most destructive in terms of lives lost and property damage.

 Following the massive 7.9 magnitude quake, more than 500 aftershocks continued
to strike different parts of Gujarat till March, according to Indian Metrology
Department (IMD).

 Several towns and villages were destroyed in the catastrophe.

 Being close to the epicenter, Bhuj was among the worst affected areas including
Anjaar, Vondh and Bhachau.
 Several buildings were damaged or destroyed in the quake.

 The famous Swaminarayan temple in the city of Bhuj was also partially damaged.

II. MAGNITUDE AND INTENSITY:

 The preliminary magnitude of the earthquake was initially reported as 7.9. It was
later revised to 7.7 Ms.

 The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village

of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of KutchDistrict of Gujarat, India.

 The intraplate earthquake reached 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a
maximum felt intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale.

 A major earthquake struck Gujarat, India, on 26 January 2001 at 08:46 AM local

time resulting in close to 13,823 deaths and extensive damage to property in
Gujarat, India. Damage to a lesser extent also occurred in the adjoining states of
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan in India and in Sindh province,
Pakistan. The earthquake had a magnitude of Mw=7.7 and was felt for several
minutes in many parts of south Asia. This is one of the largest instrumented
earthquakes in peninsula India.
 The earthquake was centred 9.2 kilometres SSW of Chobari (Gujarat), India,
17.9 kilometres NNW of Bhachau (Gujarat), India,
44.0 kilometres NNE of Gandhidham (Gujarat), India,
46.7 kilometres NE of Anjar (Gujarat), India,
68.3 kilometres ENE of Bhuj (Gujarat), India,
86.9 kilometres NW of Morbi (Gujarat), India,
112 kilometres NNE of Jamnagar (Gujarat), India,
238 kilometres WNW of Ahmedabad (Gujarat), India,
292 kilometres SE of Hyderabad (Sindh), Pakistan,
371 kilometres SE of Clifton, Karachi (Sindh), Pakistan,
551 kilometres NW of Santa Cruz Airport, Mumbai (Maharashtra), India,
900 kilometres SW of Connaught Place, Delhi (N.C.R.), India.

The earthquake’s epicentre was 20km from Bhuj. A city with a population of
140,000 in 2001. The city is in the region known as the Kutch region. The effects of the
earthquake were also felt on the north side of the Pakistan border, in Pakistan 18 people
were killed. The quake of 25 January 2001 occurred along a tectonic boundary which, as
the adjacent USGS map illustrates, is characterized by high seismic activity.
This seismic boundary has been formed by the movement of the Indian tectonic
plate in a north and northeast direction as it collides with the Eurasian and Arabian
tectonic plates. This process has continued for millions of years as the India plate drifted
northward. Compression along this boundary resulted in a thrust or reverse type of
faulting with the net result being an upward displacement of the Indian plate and the
formation of the Himalayan Mountain Range and the Tibetan Plateau.

III. SEISMIC ZONE:

Slippage is believed to have occurred on the south dipping North Wagad

reverse fault in the Kutch aulacogen or failed rift. This has been further confirmed by
aftershock studies following the earthquake. Initial speculation held the Kutchh Mainland
Fault (KMF) responsible, however, further studies and field observations show that it
might have been caused on the previously unknown NWF lying in the vicinity of the
KMF. Slip is believed to have totalled between 1 metre to 4 metres. The rupture is also
believed to have approached within 9 to 15 kilometres of the ground surface. Earthquakes
on unknown faults are not uncommon and have occurred in the best studied places, such
as the 1994 Northridge earthquake in the heavily instrumented Los Angeles area.
 The earthquake is an intraplate event, as it occurred within the Indian plate, away
from its edges. Others studies are also of the opinion that the earthquake occurred in the
diffused western boundary of the Indian plate.

A surprising feature of this earthquake was the lack of a primary surface

rupture, that usually accompanies events of such large magnitude. This implies that the
earthquake was blind. Large blind earthquake have occurred elsewhere in the world,
such as the M7.4 El Asnam, Algeria earthquake (1980) and the M8.1 Assam earthquake
(1897). Much of the ground deformation was concentrated near the eastern edge of the
rupture, north and north-east of Bhachau. Features of this nature are commonly
observed after thrust-faulting earthquakes.

Violent ground shaking was felt in Bhuj for nearly 85 seconds with several
minutes of lower level shaking. The duration of shaking at Ahmedabad and Surat was
around 90 seconds and was felt for a similar length of time in other parts of India. A
similar instrument in the basement of the Passport Office building in Navrangpura,
Ahmedabad recorded 0.098g. Using broad band velocities recorded by the IMD at Bhuj
and a rupture model based on teleseismic data, an estimated value of 0.38g was
obtained for Bhuj. Other studies used finite fault models coupled with a teleseismic
rupture model to predict the peak ground acceleration and compared the results with a
known set of Mercalli intensities derived from media reports for locations up to 700
kilometres away. Predicted values were 1-3 units lower that the observed Mercalli
intensities and this can be interpreted either as local site response or a media bias.
However, they predict 80% of g at distances up to 300 kilometres from the fault.
 IV. TECTONIC SYSTEMS:

The earthquake was caused at the convergent plate boundary between the
Indian plate and the Eurasian plate boundary. These pushed together and caused the
earthquake. However as Bhuj is in an intraplate zone, the earthquake was not expected,
this is one of the reasons so many buildings were destroyed – because people did not
build to earthquake resistant standards in an area earthquakes were not thought to occur.
In addition the Gujarat earthquake is an excellent example of liquefaction, causing
buildings to ‘sink’ into the ground which gains a consistency of a liquid due to the
frequency of the earthquake.

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.
 V. SHAKING EFFECTS (WITHIN GUJARAT):

The worst damage was caused in eastern Kachchh, in the vicinity of the town
of Bhachau which was almost completely destroyed. Kachchh was cut off from the rest
of the country for more than 24 hours. At Anjar, much of the old section of the town was
destroyed. At least 143 students and teachers, who were participating in a Republic Day
parade were killed at Khatri Chowk in Anjar, when buildings on both sides on the narrow
lane they were in collapsed. The larger towns of Gandhidham and Bhuj were also badly
affected. Many multi-storied buildings collapsed, including the housing quarters at the
Indian Air Force base and the 8-storey Sahajanand Complex in Bhuj. The worst damage
was concentrated in the old city of Bhuj. . Many of the injured were flown to Mumbai
and Pune for medical treatment. Relief was flown in by the Indian Air Force, from its
bases in Amritsar, Bhatinda, Chandigarh and Pune. Structures of historical importance
such as the famous Aina Mahal and the Kachchh Museum were heavily damaged and
partially collapsed. The Chhatris at the Bhuj Fort were also either completely destroyed
or very badly damaged.

The port of Kandla was closed following the earthquake. About 2,000 metric tones of
Acrylonitrate (ACN), a highly toxic and flammable chemical leaked at the J.R.
Enterprises Tank farm, Kandla. Naphtha was released from a ruptured pipe at the Indian
Oil Corporation (I.O.C.) tank farm. Ammonia was released at the Indian Farmer's
Fertilizer Corporation Limited (I.F.F.C.O.) due to the loss of air conditioning. No fires
were reported from industrial facilities. Sporadic damage occurred all across Gujarat. At
Morvi, many historic buildings collapsed and heavy damage occurred at the famous
Green Chowk market. The most significant damage however, occurred in the two large
cities of Ahmedabad and Surat.
 In Ahmedabad, nearly 85 multi-storied buildings, such as the 10-storey
Shikhar Apartments and the 10-storey Mansi Complex, collapsed killing 700 people. At
least 60 students died when the 4-storey, Swaminarayan Vidhyalaya school collapsed in
the Ghodasar-Isanpur area of Ahmedabad. Fires broke out at a few locations in
Ahmedabad, like at the collapsed Sangemarmar Apartments. The famous Shaking
Minarets in Ahmedabad were badly damaged. The Nehru Bridge and the Chimanbhai
Bridge, across the Sabarmati River, suffered some damage. In Surat, a 7-storey building,
the Harekrishna Apartments collapsed. 18 people were killed in stampedes in Surat's,
Varachha and Wed Katargram areas.

VI. SHAKING EFFECTS (OUTSIDE GUJARAT):

Outside Gujarat, to the west, strong shaking was experienced in the Indus
delta and in the large cities of Karachi and Hyderabad. 18 people were killed in the
Sindh. A 7-storey building, Ghousia Apartments collapsed in the city of Hyderabad.
Liquefaction, earthquake fountains and sandblows were also reported from here. In
Rajasthan, many buildings were badly damaged, mainly at Bakhasar and Jodhpur. Many
structures of historical importance, like the Jaiselmer Fort, were damaged in Rajasthan.
Damage was also reported from Mt. Abu, Pokhran, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur. In
Madhya Pradesh tremors were felt prominently in the Narmada Valley, as far as Jabalpur.
In Maharashtra, buildings developed cracks at many places in Mumbai and Vashi. A fire
brigade station suffered slight structural damage at Wadala, Mumbai.
 Tremors were felt strongly in Mumbai, Pune and as far as Kolhapur.
Beyond these areas, the shock was felt to a limited extent in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)
and Bengalooru, and in high-rise buildings as far as Kolkata and New Delhi. Long period
effects such as a sensation of nausea / giddiness among people and oscillating hanging
objects were reported from many parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Press
reports from Bangladesh, reported unusual drifts in rivers in the Sunderbans following
the earthquake. Even at locations over 1,000 kilometres from the epicentre, ground
shaking was amplified in recent sediments resulting in locally moderate shaking. Such
effects were experienced in the Kaveri delta of Tamil Nadu, in the Bengal basin and in
the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal.

VII. DEATH TOLL:

Because of its size and location, this quake was very destructive in terms of lives lost and
damage to property. All the deaths occurred in India'a western state of Gujarat, near the
Pakistan border. Bhuj , a coastal resort only 20 kilometers (14 miles) from the epicenter,
was the worse affected town.

As many as 15,000 -20,000 people were initially reported dead but within a few days
after the earthquake, the death toll kept on rising. As of 3 February 2001, the official toll
had climbed to more than 30,000. However, the final death toll may never be known with
certainty. At least 30,000 more people were reported as injured. This too may be an
underestimate.

The quake destroyed 90 percent of the homes in Bhuj, several schools, and flattened the
hospital. Considerable damage occurred also at Bhachau. In Ahmedabad, Gujarat's
commercial capital and a city of 4.5 million, as many as 50 multistory buildings collapsed
and several hundred people were killed. Total property damage was estimated at more
than $5.5 billion.
 VIII. EFFECTS:

The death toll in the Kutch region was 12,300. Bhuj, which was situated only 20 km
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.

Bhuj Earthquake India - Aerial View

Specifics of 2001 Quake

Compression Stress between region’s faults
Depth: 16km
Probable Fault: Kachchh Mainland

Fault Type: Reverse Dip-Slip (Thrust Fault)

 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.. A temporary Red Cross hospital remained in Bhuj to provide care while a
replacement hospital was built.

IX. LOSS CLASSIFICATION:

1. Disaster loss

 Initial estimate Rs. 200 billion

 Came down to Rs. 144 billion
 No inventory of buildings
 Non-engineered buildings
 Land and buildings
 Stocks and flows
 Reconstruction costs (Rs. 106 billion) and loss estimates (Rs. 99 billion) are different
 Public good considerations

2. Human Impact: Tertiary effects

 Affected 15.9 million people out of 37.8 in the region (in areas such as Bhuj, Bhachau,
Anjar, Ganhidham, Rapar)
 High demand for food, water, and medical care for survivors
 Humanitarian intervention by groups such as Oxfam: focused on Immediate response and
then rehabilitation
 Of survivors, many require persistent medical attention
 Region continues to require assistance long after quake has subsided
 International aid vital to recovery

3. Fiscal accounts

 Differentiate among different taxes: sales tax, stamp duties and registration fees, motor
vehicle tax, electricity duty, entertainment tax, profession tax, state excise and other
taxes. Shortfall of Rs. 9 billion of which about Rs. 6 billion unconnected with earthquake.
 Earthquake related other flows.
 Expenditure: Rs. 8 billion on relief. Rs. 87 billion on rehabilitation
 3. Social Impacts

 80% of water and food sources were destroyed.

 The obvious social impacts are that around 20,000 people were killed and near 200,000
were injured.
 However at the same time, looting and violence occurred following the quake, and this
affected many people too.
 On the other hand, the earthquake resulted in millions of USD in aid, which has since
allowed the Bhuj region to rebuild itself and then grow in a way it wouldn’t have done
otherwise.
 The final major social effect was that around 400,000 Indian homes were destroyed
resulting in around 2 million people being made homeless immediately following the
quake.

4. Social security and insurance

 Ex gratia payment: death relief and monetary benefits to the injured

 Major and minor injuries
 Cash doles
 Government insurance fund
 Group insurance schemes
 Claim ratio

5. Demographics and labour market

 Geographic pattern of ground motion, spatial array of population and properties at risk,
and their risk vulnerabilities.
 Low population density was a saving grace.
 Holiday
 Extra fatalities among women
 Effect on dependency ratio
 Farming and textiles

6. Economic Impacts

 Total damage estimated at around $7 billion. However $18 billion of aid was invested in
the Bhuj area.
 Over 15km of tarmac road networks were completely destroyed.
 In the economic capital of the Gujarat region, Ahmedabad, 58 multi storey buildings
were destroyed, these buildings contained many of the businesses which were generating
the wealth of the region.
 Many schools were destroyed and the literacy rate of the Gujarat region is now the lowest
outside southern India.
 7. Impact on GDP

 Applying ICOR
 Rs. 99 billion – deduct a third as loss of current value added.
 Get GDP loss as Rs. 23 billion
 Adjust for heterogeneous capital, excess capacity, loss Rs. 20 billion.
 Reconstruction efforts.
 Likely to have been Rs. 15 billion.

X. EFFECT ON PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE:

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (A.E.R.C.) reported no

damage from the nuclear power stations at Kakrapara (Gujarat), Rawatbhata (Rajasthan),
Tarapur (Maharashtra), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu) and Kaiga
(Karnataka). The Department of Atomic Energy (D.A.E.) said that the Kakrapara nuclear
reactor, at Anumala, near Surat withstood the earthquake and was functional after the
earthquake. The level of shaking is reported to have reached 51.2 Hz, very close to the
tripping level. Several dams, such as the Suvi and Tappar Dams, were damaged in the
epicentral area. Nearly 200 dams were damaged and required to either be repaired or
strengthened. The intake tower of the Tapper Dam near Gandhidham was heavily
damaged. Water supply was disrupted in Kutchh due to damage caused to the water
pumping and pipe transmission system. Two elevated water tanks collapsed in the
epicentral area, though 100 others survived without any major damage. 5 tanks also
collapsed in the Maliya-Morbi area. Such a structure was seen swaying during the
mainshock at Radhanpur. 16 out of 300 well inspected following the earthquake had
sulphur problems. Highways were still functional.

The Surajbari Bridge on National Highway 8A, suffered serious structural

damage and traffic movement was restricted on it. A major power failure was
experienced all over Gujarat immediately following the earthquake. The power stations at
Wanakbori (1200 MW), Gandhinagar (450 MW), Dhuvaran (250 MW), AECO (380
MW), Panendro (110 MW), Sikka (110 MW) and Gandhar (90 MW) tripped. All 400 kV
lines, except the 400 kV Indore-Asoj D/C and Jhanor-Padghe line tripped. Due to this,
the frequency jumped from 49.86 Hz tp 5.15 Hz, causing a throw of 3500 MW in
northern and central Gujarat and in Saurashtra. The Powergrid restored its lines within 13
minutes while the NTPC was done in 2 hours. Due to the immediate action by the
Western Load Dispatch Centre of the Ministry of Power, a complete collapsed of the
western grid (covering Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Chhatisgarh and
parts of Rajasthan) was prevented. Telecommunication networks were temporarily
distrupted and the fiber optic lines severed. However, services were restored by within a
week as was a cellular phone service.

XI. AFTERSHOCKS:
The strongest aftershock occurred on January 28, 2001 and was centred near Bhachau.
It had a magnitude of Mw=5.8 and caused widespread panic in Gujarat. People rushed
out into the open in Ahmedabad where the aftershock was felt for 30 seconds. It was
also felt at Jaiselmer in Rajasthan and as far away as Mumbai. Many people were
injured at Ahmedabad, in an M5.3 aftershock on February 8, 2001, as they jumped from
buildings in panic. An aftershock on February 24, injured several people in Sindh,
Pakistan and caused some damage to buildings in the area.

XII. REMEDIES:

 Function on mitigation and integrate DM efforts into development planning.

 Focus on vulnerability reduction.
 Ensuring the speed of response through preparedness.
 Integration of DM into development planning efforts.
 Creating awareness and stakeholder participation.
 Institutionalizing mechanisms for learning from other experiences.
 Developing and enabling statuotary framework, specifiying power and duties.
 Capitalizing on exsisting resources,networks and experience.
 Community participation and involvement.
 Buiding capabilities and expertise.
 Need to focus on long terms sustainability to achieve its desired objectives.
 XIII. SUMMARY:

 The earthquake devastated Kutch. Practically all buildings and structures of Kutch were
brought down.
 Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Surendaranagar and Patan were heavily damaged.
 Nearly 19,000 people died. Kutch alone reported more than 17,000 deaths.
 1.66 lakh people were injured. Most were handicapped for the rest of their lives.
 The dead included 7,065 children (0-14 years) and 9,110 women.
 There were 348 orphans and 826 widows.

XIV. MEMORIAL:

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