2001年印度古吉拉特邦大地震

An earthquake struck India and Pakistan on 26 January 2001 at 08:46 am IST. The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat, India. The earthquake had a maximum Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme).

The intraplate earthquake measured 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale and occurred at a depth of 17.4 km (10.8 mi). The earthquake killed at least 20,023 people, injured another 166,000 and destroyed about 400,000 buildings in Gujarat and the Pakistani province of Sindh. The vast majority of deaths and damage were observed in Kutch district, while nearly 1,600 additional deaths occurred in the cities of Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Surendranagar, Surat, Gandhinagar and Vadodara.

Tectonic setting

Gujarat lies 300–400 km from the plate boundary between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate, but the current tectonics are 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.

Earthquake

The earthquake was caused by movement on a previously unknown south-dipping fault, trending parallel to the inferred rift structures. No major surface ruptures were associated with the shock, classifying it as a blind thrust earthquake. Lateral spreading was widely reported and strike-slip faulting was observed at Bharodia and Manfara. On the moment magnitude scale, the International Seismological Centre said it measured a magnitude of 7.6, while the United States Geological Survey put it at 7.7.

Rupture propagation

A finite fault model from the USGS estimated that the earthquake rupture had an area of 141 km (88 mi) x 18 km (11 mi), lasting approximately 25 seconds.……

Damage and casualties

The United States Geological Survey's PAGER-CAT catalog reported 20,023 fatalities. Additionally, 166,836 injuries were recorded, a total of 28 million people across Gujarat were affected, and 442 villages lost at least 70% of houses. In Kutch District, 90% of homes were damaged or destroyed, with 24% of the housing stock affected overall in Gujarat; most affected buildings were non-engineered, unreinforced stonemasonry, although many reinforced concrete buildings also collapsed.……

Reconstruction

Four months after the earthquake the Gujarat government announced the Gujarat Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Policy. The policy proposed a different approach to urban and rural construction with the estimated cost of rebuilding to be US$1.77 billion.

The main objectives of the policy included repairing, building, and strengthening houses and public buildings. Other objectives included the revival of the economy, health support, and reconstruction of the community and social infrastructure.

Housing

The housing policies focused on the removal of rubble, setting up temporary shelters, full reconstruction of damaged houses, and the retrofitting of undamaged units.……

Relief

The Government of Gujarat created four assistance packages worth up to US$1 billion to support the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the city. These packages assisted about 300,000 families. The government also announced a US$2.5 million package to revive small, medium, and cottage industries. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank also provided loans worth $300 million and $500 million, respectively.

Assistance was offered from many countries and organisations.

Memorials

Smritivan, a memorial park and museum dedicated to victims of the earthquake was built on top of Bhujia Hill in Bhuj, Kutch and opened in 2022. Spread over an area of 470 acres, it has more than 13,805 trees, each dedicated to a victim, planted in the garden and 108 small water reservoirs created on the hill.

Veer Balak Smarak in Anjar is a memorial dedicated to 185 school children and 20 teachers who died during the earthquake.