BECOMING A DISASTER
MANAGER
TOPICS
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
ACCOUNT ON A DISASTER
HAZARD
DISASTER
TYPES OF DISASTERS
HAZARD TO A DISASTER
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
PHASES OF DISASTER
MANAGEMENT
ACCOUNT ON A DISASTER
THE EARTHQUAKE OF 25 JANUARY 2001 IN
GUJARAT, INDIA
George Pararas-Carayannis
Introduction
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.
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.
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Earthquake Epicenter, Origin Time, Magnitude and
Aftershocks
The preliminary magnitude of the earthquake was initially reported as 7.9. It was later revised to 7.7 Ms. 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 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 kilometres) 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 kilometres) 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 epicentre 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. xxxxxxxxxxxx Death Tolls And Damages
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's western state of Gujarat, near the
Pakistan