Earthquake

* SUBTOPIC 3 : Underwater earthquake causing Tsunami. * The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53UTC on Sunday, 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake. The resulting tsunami was given various names, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, South Asian tsunami, Indonesian tsunami, and the Boxing Day tsunami. * The earthquake was caused when the Indian Plate was sub ducted by the Burma Plate and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing over 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters High. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia was the hardest-hit country, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. * With a magnitude of Mw 9.1–9.3, it is the third largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. The earthquake had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. It caused the entire planet to vibrate as much as 1 centimetre (0.4 inches) and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska. Its epicentre was between Simeulue and mainland Indonesia. The plight of the affected people and countries prompted a worldwide humanitarian response. In all, the worldwide community donated more than $14 billion (2004 US$) in humanitarian aid.

* SUBTOPIC 4 : Research on any one earthquake that has taken place.
-Extent of damage and location of the epicenter.
-Areas affected.
Introduction.
The 2001 Gujarat earthquake occurred on January 26, 2001, India's 51st Republic Day, at 08:46 AM local time (3:16 UTC) and lasted for over two minutes. A Powerful Earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on Richter-Scale rocked the Western Indian State of Gujarat on the26thof January, 2001. It caused extensive damage to life & property. Thisearthquake was so devastating in its scale and suffering that the likes of it had not been experienced in past 50 years. Leaving thousands seriously injured, bruised and handicapped; both physically, psychologically and economically
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* Extent of damage and location of the epicenter.

The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District of Gujarat, India. The earthquake reached a magnitude of between 7.6 and 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum felt intensity of X (Intense) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The quake killed around 20,000 people (including 18 in South eastern Pakistan), injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes.
This was an intraplate earthquake, one that occurred at a distance from an active plate boundary, so the area was not well prepared. The shock waves spread 700 km. 21 districts were affected and 600,000 people left homeless.

* Areas Effected : he final death toll in Kutch was 12,300. Bhuj, situated only 20 kilometres (12 mi) 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.[7] 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. 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 quake destroyed about 60% of food and water supplies and around 258,000 houses - 90% of the district's housing stock. The biggest set back was the total demolition of the Bhuj Civil hospital. The Indian military provided emergency support which was later augmented by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. A temporary Red Cross hospital remained in Bhuj to provide care while a replacement hospital was built.[8]