Earthquake Case study:

Bhuj Earthquake 26th January

2001
Earthquake?
Earthquake is a violent tremor in the earth’s crust, sending out
a series of shock waves in all directions from its place of
origin or epicenter.

Earthquakes constitute one of the worst natural hazards which

often turn into disaster causing widespread destruction and
loss to human life.

Earthquake risk
Seismic risk = hazard x exposure x vulnerability x location
Causes of
Earthquake
Earthquakes are caused by sudden release of energy in
rocks. Plates in the form of rocks are moving very slowly
and earthquake occur when moving plates grind and
scrape against each other. The point at which an
earthquake originates is the focus or hypocenter and the
point on the earth’s surface; directly above this is
epicenter.The study of earthquake is called seismology.
Performance of Multi-storey R.C. Framed
Buildings during Bhuj Earthquake,
2001

Several of the multistorey buildings were totally

collapsed killing the inmates. In Ahmedabad about 75
buildings totally collapsed out of almost 250, 000
buildings.
Damage to R.C. Frame
Buildings:

The damage is mostly due to failure of infill, or

failure of columns or beams. Spalling of concrete
in columns.The column damaged by cracking or
buckling due to excessive bending combined with
axial load.The buckling of columns is significant
when the columns are slender and the spacing of
the stirrup in the column is large.
Causes of damage/ failure of r.c.
building
frame
s:

Poor quality of construction. Inadequate detailing

or laying of reinforcement in various
components particularly at joints and in
columns/beams for ductility. Inadequate
diaphragm action of roofs/floors. Inadequate
treatment of infill masonry walls. Inadequate
strength to resist torsional forces due to
eccentricity.
 Damage assessment
 There were more than 20,000 deaths and 167,000 people injured
 Four districts of Gujarat lay in ruin and altogether, 21 districts
were affected
 Around 300,000 families and at least 3 million children
aged 14 and under were affected.
 Around 600,000 people were left homeless.
 In the city of Bhuj, more than 3,000 inhabitants of the city lost
their lives; the main hospital was crushed and close to 90% of the
buildings was destroyed.
 There was significant damage to infrastructure with facilities such
as hospitals, schools, electric power and water systems, bridges
and roads damaged or destroyed.
Date Place m Scale
Set.2 , 1993 Latur 6.3 Large areas of Maharashtra
(maharashtra rocked. 10,000 people lost lives
)
May 22, 1997 Jabalpur 6.0 40 person killed and over 100
(Maharashtra injured
)
March 29, 1999 Nandprayag 6.8 widespread destruction in chamoli
, rudraprayag and other areas.
Massive loss of human life
Jan. 26 2001 Bhuj (gujrat) 7.8 Tremors left by India and its
neighboring countries. Over 1
lakh people killed. Huge loss to
property and infrastructure
Oct. 8, 2005 Muzzaffaraba 7.4 Heavy damage to life and
d in property.
Pakistan Death toll about one lakh in Pakistan
occupied and nearly 2000 in India
Kashmir
Picture of search and rescue phase of Latur earthquake 1993
Helpless man being trapped under debris
Post – disaster picture from Kashmir earthquake 2005
40 to 50 high-rise buildings crumbled.
A homeless family waits for a ride amid ruined houses and a funeral pyre in the village
near Bhuj.