The 2001 Gujarat earthquake occurred on January 26, 2001, at 08:46 AM, and coincided with the 51st celebration of India's Repu

The 2001 Gujarat earthquake occurred on January 26, 2001, at 08:46 AM, and coincided with the 51st celebration of India's Republic Day. The location of the epicentre was Bhuj (23.6 N 69.8 E) Gujarat, India. With a moment magnitude (Mw) of between 7.6 and 8.1, the quake killed more than 20,000 people and injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes throughout Gujarat and parts of eastern Pakistan.[3]The earthquake is considered an intraplate earthquake because it occurred at a distance from any plate boundary, where the theory of plate tectonics says most earthquakes of this size happen. Because of this, this area was not well prepared for an earthquake of such size. The event was the result of stored energy in a collision margin, which describes when two continental plates collide and begin to rub, creating pressure, until the energy is released in an quake. It registered as 7.9 on the richter scale.

EffectsBecause of its size and location, the quake was very destructive in terms of lives lost and damage to property. As many as 26,000 people were reported dead, and 167,000 injured. All the deaths occurred in India's western state of Gujarat, near the Pakistan border. The final death toll of Kutch was 12,220. Bhuj, situated only 20 kilometres (14 miles) from the epicentre, was the most devastated town. Overall, over a million structures were damaged or destroyed, including many historic buildings and tourist attractions.[4]The quake destroyed around 90% of the homes in Bhuj, eight schools, and flattened two hospitals. It partly destroyed the historic Swaminarayan temple in the city. Considerable damage also occurred in Bhachau. It also destroyed 4km of road in Bhuj. In Ahmedabad, Gujarat's commercial capital and a city of 4.6 million population, 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. The quake destroyed 75% of Kutch District, and over 80% of usable food and water supplies. This left Bhuj devastated.

The district collector Anil Mukim oversaw the early delivery of aid and equipment to affected villages but then called for further aid deliveries to cease as they encouraged a "relief mentality" which would delay a return to normal life.[5]Also the shock waves spread 700km. 21 districts were affected and 600 000 people left homeless....

EarthquakePerhaps the Earthquake is the most fearful natural phenomenon in the human life. It is more so, because it is unpredictable and arrives without notice or without announcing it's vigor and strength. Scientists are constantly in search of this unknown. The major events of the earthquakes from the human viewpoint are realized on review of some major catastrophes. Minute observations and records at least have been able to pin point the focus or the epicenter of these earthquakes in the historical past. These studies could reveal two great seismic belts in the entire globe. This article in fact, is just a browsing in the memory in response to the curiosity of Internet hunters. Therefore, it should start with the very basic question-What Is An Earthquake?Apparently the answer is simple - numerous tremors, both powerful and weak are the results of disturbances within the body of the earth itself logically are called Earthquake.Why & How Earthquakes Happen? Reasons could be many; pinpointing is always after the event. They may be caused by various activities at the earth's surface such as ebb and the flow of the tides, the rush of traffic in the city streets, the tumbling of streams over high falls, magma tic outbursts from within the interior of the earth or explosion of high power nuclear or atomic bomb and so and so forth.

Significantly, most of the earthquakes in this belt are associated with volcanic activities. The violent outbursts of Kraktao in 1883 were accompanied by severe shocks and about 35,000 people died instantly and the whole village was displaced beneath the ocean bottom.With intermittent volcanic activity and earth tremors, this region recently, on 26th December 2004 was subjected to catastrophic earthquake of 9 magnitudes in Richter scale, which again recurred on 28th March 2005. The previous one led tsunami causing severe damage to both life and property. The other parts of India, was used to be considered as earthquake resistant areas or the shield areas. Oldest rocks of more than 3000 m years form the foundations of the continental mass compare to much younger rock sequence in the seismically active belt just described. Therefore earthquakes causing loss of life & property around Latur or Koyna raised a serious concern among the geoscientists. One important aspect in this regard should always be kept in mind that the tremors had hit mostly the coastal points excepting a few areas in the hinterland.