1/26/2001 India Earthquake

Updated 2/4/2001

An earthquake measuring 7.9 Magnitude hit the city of Bhuj, a desert town of 150,000 people in Gujarat state near the Pakistani border in western India at 0316 GMT (8:46 AM local time) 01/26/01.

Over 15,000 people are confirmed dead with 55,000 injured. The death toll could go as high as 30,000 to 35,000 according to relief agencies. The official estimate puts damage at over $4.5 Billion. Descriptions of the area nearest the epicenter are of total devastation. Over 100 buildings collapsed. Medical facilities were overwhelmed by the casualties, with hospitals themselves suffering devastating damage. People are being warned to avoid going back into their houses for fear of further damage from aftershocks, which have been numerous. Some aftershocks have been has strong as 5.9 Magnitude. Nine days after the main quake, aftershocks are still powerful enough that they threaten the collapse of still more buildings and send panicked people rushing out into the streets. Authorities are worried that many buildings are in dangerous condition and have banned people from entering them. Highrises are leaning and could collapse at any time. As is usually true after a quake of this magnitude, there are aftershocks several times a day that tend to keep people on edge, even when they don't cause more damage.

The quake was felt as far away as Nepal, 1,000 miles to the north and Bangladesh, 1,200 miles to the east. Buildings swayed in New Dehli (600 miles, 966 Km away), where Republic Day(India's Independence Day) celebrations were just about to get underway. In Gujarat 350 children participating in a parade were buried as buildings collapsed on them. Most of the casualties were in Gujarat state, although there were some in other parts of India and in Pakistan. The quake was the most powerful to strike India since Aug. 15, 1950, when an 8.5 magnitude temblor killed 1,538 people in northeastern Assam state.

Electric, Gas, Telephone and Water services were knocked out throughout Gujarat. After a few days service was restored in the major cities but outages continue in the hardest hit areas. Authorities said that the 2 nuclear power plants in Gujarat were not damaged. Thousands of the dead were from Bhuj, where 90% of the buildings sustained damage and more than half the buildings have been destroyed. AP reports 1/26/01 "In Ahmedabad, a center of India's textile industry, as many as 50 multistory buildings crumbled. Hundreds of people besieged the fire station asking for help to dig out their relatives, said fire chief Rajesh Bhat" Rescue efforts used both heavy cranes and people digging by hand in a desparate attempt to save loved ones. Nine days after the quake there are very few people being found alive. Thousands are leaving the area on foot due to a lack of food, water and shelter. There have been allegations of shoddy building practices being responsible for some of the damaged buildings. the government promises to investigate this.

The Indian Government is sending 10,000 tents and shipments of grain to the region. International aid has been offered from many countries, including Pakistan, and the United Nations is sending an evaluation team. The government is treating the emergency on a war footing, asking people to rally around to help. The military is taking a leading role in getting supplies to the quake area and treating the wounded. Two naval hospital ships are being used to treat injured people. The Air Force is flying in 40 flights a day with food and medical supplies. Two days after the quake authorities are worried about the spread of disease due to inadequate sanitary facilities and thousands of unburied bodies, although the World Health Organization (WHO) states that there are no diseases transmitted by dead bodies. There is a lack of firewood for cremations but more is being brought into the area. Many small funeral pyres burn throughout the area. Contaminated water is being blamed for an increase in diarrhea but there have not been any major outbreaks of disease. There is still danger of the spread of cholera or malaria due to poor living conditions for survivors. Respiratory illness is common due to people having to live outside in cold weather. Many villages did not receive help until a week after the quake. Efforts have so far been concentrated in the cities but the Prime Minister has now called for more help for the countryside as well. The government has come in for strong criticism in the hardest hit areas for not asking for international aid sooner and for not getting help to outlying areas for days after the quake. Desperate people have clashed with police over distribution of food.

This quake was caused by the movement of the Indian Plate as it moves northward into the Eurasian Plate. The quake had a shallow focus as the earth's crust adjusted to the strain caused by this collision. Gujarat is located on the Western edge of the Indian Plate near the intersection of the Eurasian Plate and the Arabian Plate. Although the collision of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate has created the Himalayas, this quake was cause by the plates in the area slipping past each other. (See the Plate Tectonics page for more information on these processes.)

See also the following news stories:

• India Earthquake kills Over 2000, AP 1/26/01
• Thousands dead in India; quake toll rapidly rising, CNN 1/27/01
• Nearly 15,000 Feared Dead in Indian Quake , Reuters 1/27/01
• Photos of the Quake Damage
• India Aid Effort Struggles to Cope, BBC 1/28/01
• Survivors Tell of Earthquake Horror, BBC 1/28/01
• India tends to quake survivors, CNN 1/28/01
• Indian Quake Team Finds Boy As Time Runs Out, Reuters, 1/29/01
• Order collapses as India quake survivors seek food, water, CNN 1/30/01
• Eyewitness: Shattered lives on edge of existence, CNN 2/2/01
• Quake survivor found as India recoups, CNN 2/4/01
• Report criticises NGO response to Gujarat quake (Reuters AlertNet 2/4/2002)

1/13/2001 El Salvador Earthquake

Updated 2/20/2001

At 11:34 AM local time (1734 GMT) 1/13/01 an earthquake measuring 7.6 Magnitude with an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean 65 miles 110 km) off the coast of El Salvador. The nearest town was San Miguel. Unlike the 1986 7.5 M quake that devastated the capital, San Salvador, this quake caused extensive damage mostly in the countryside. The quake was felt across El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras and as far north as Mexico City. As is common after a large quake, there have been frequent aftershocks, some of them up to 5.7 Magnitude. People are sleeping in the streets for fear of further damage to their houses. President Flores is urging calm, dismissing rumors that aftershocks could cause tsunamis or volcanic eruptions. He said that although the danger is not past there are not likely to be anything as strong as the original quake. There have been additional building collapses and landslides triggered by aftershocks.

Over 1,000 people are confirmed dead, 2500 injured and 750,000 homeless. 141,000 houses were destroyed. The homeless are living in refugee camps with no where to go. President Flores ordered 3,000 coffins from Columbia immediately following the quake. 500 of the fatalities were people trapped in a landslide in San Tecla outside of San Salvador. A hillside collapsed, covering up to 500 houses. Rescuers hurried to uncover the houses in the hope of finding survivors. The BBC reports that residents claim that construction of the houses had been done improperly, undermining the hillside. Early efforts were hampered by lack of equipment. Roads have been blocked by landslides, communications are difficult and power is out throughout the country. The airport was closed for a day or two after the quake due to heavy damage to the passenger terminal. Many buildings have collapsed, including a church over 100 years old. 50,000 people have been evacuated from dangerous areas due to fears of further landslides. According to the BBC 1/16/01 "As many as half of the country's six million people are without water supplies, the Pan-American Health Organization said. Efforts are being intensified to get food, blankets and tents to those made homeless. Improvised shelters of canvas and plastic have been erected and the army is distributing rations of rice and beans."

President Flores has declared a national disaster and called for international aid. Total damage from the quake is estimated at $1.3 billion, over 15% of the annual economic output.. Mexico was the first to send a rescue team, followed by Taiwan, Switzerland and many other countries, including the USA. Taiwan sent a rescue team formed after their 1999 disastrous quake. Relief supplies include helicopters, dogs trained to find buried victims, food, blankets and money. After about a week the focus changed from rescue to relief . Bodies were being buried as quickly as possible in mass graves to prevent the spread of disease. There is an urgent need to care for those displaced by the quake. There has been some speculation that deforestation due to extensive logging destabilized hillsides and increased the severity of the landslides.

CNN reports, "A 22-year-old man was rescued after he alerted searchers by tapping for hours on concrete debris that had fallen on him. Another trapped man escaped death by using a cellular phone to call for help and inform rescuers of his location."

Geologically the quake was caused by the subduction of the Cocos Plate under the Caribbean Plate. The Cocos Plate is one of the remnants of a larger plate to the east of the Pacific Plate. The Juan De Fuca Plate, off of the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States and British Columbia, Canada, is another remnant of that plate. These plates are subducting under the neighboring plates to the east and will eventually be entirely consumed, as it was off the California coast where the Pacific Plate is now directly against the North American Plate in the San Andreas fault zone. (See the Plate Tectonics page for more information on these processes.)

See also the following news stories:

• Central American quake leaves more than 100 dead, up to 1,200 missing, CNN 1/14/2001
• Earthquake Death Toll Leaps in Central America, Reuters 1/14/01
• Desperate search for quake survivors, BBC 1/14/01
• Rescuers Toil Despite Salvador Aftershocks Reuters 1/15/01
• Salvadorans fear aftershocks, possible mudslides after quake, CNN 1/15/01
• Tremors hinder quake relief, BBC 1/16/01
• Salvadorans Bury Quake Victims, Death Toll to 666 Reuters 1/16/01
• As El Salvador rebuilds, earthquake refugees wonder what's next, CNN 1/20/01
• Salvador aid crisis looms, BBC 2/16/01

6/4/2000 Sumatra Earthquake

Updated 6/11/2000

The city of Bengkulu on the Indonesian island of Sumatra was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 at 16:28 GMT (23:28 Local time) 6/4/00. The death toll has reached 120 one week after the quake, as rescuers continue to dig through the rubble of hundreds of collapsed buildings. In some areas as many as 80% of the houses will have to be rebuilt. The quake's epicenter was 60 miles southwest of Bengkulu, in the Indian Ocean. The affected area is about halfway between Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, and Singapore. The quake was felt strongly in both of these cities, about 400 miles from the epicenter, sending people running into the streets in their pajamas after being awakened by violently swaying highrises. There was no reported damage, however, that far from the epicenter.

Relief supplies first arrived in two Indonesian Navy ships. The Bengkulu airport was closed with extensive damage and many roads are blocked. Communications have also been down throughout the affected area. Doctors are treating patients outdoors under plastic canopies due to concern about the safety of hospitals. One hospital roof collapsed. Medical supplies and blood are running low, although relief supplies are now reaching the area. Tens of thousands of people have been spending the night out of doors, some in tent cities, as the area has been rocked by numerous strong aftershocks, several over 6 on the Richter Scale. People are afraid of being caught in buildings that may collapse in future aftershocks. The government is coming under criticism for not responding quicker. The Indonesian government has appealed for international aid and pledged help to quake victims. Help in building temporary shelter has been promised but the government may not have the resources to build permanent housing.

The quake occurred at a depth of 21 miles. This is unusually shallow for a subduction earthquake. Sumatra is located at the border of the Australian plate, which extends undr the Indian Ocean, and the Eurasian plate. The Australian plate, as it is pushed under the Eurasian plate is capable of causing very strong earthquakes as well as extensive volcanic activity. The Indonesian Archipeligo is located at the confluence of the Australian, Eurasian, Phillipines and Pacific Plates. It is one of the most seismically and volcanically active areas of the world. (See the Plate Tectonics page for more information on these processes.)

See also the following news stories:

• Sumatra Quake aid Appeal BBC 6/5/2000
• CNN 6/6/2000 Aftershocks rattle Indonesia in wake of deadly quake
• BBC-Friday, 9 June, 2000, Sumatra begins rebuilding
• BBC 6/6/00 Sumatra quake in pictures
• BBC Stories of the Sumatra Quake
• BBC 6/6/00 Sumatra: Caught Between Two Plates

11/12/99 Turkish Earthquake

Updated 11/21/99

The city of Duzce in northwestern Turkey was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 at 16:59 GMT 11/12/99. The Turkish government reports 705 dead and 5,000 injured with 80,000 homeless. The government, stung by criticism of a slow response to the August quake that killed over 15,000 people in the same general region was quick to send troops to help in the rescue efforts. 750 buildings were destroyed. Cold weather is especially hard on the thousands living in tents, with temperatures near freezing. The government has distributed 24,000 tents but could use more. Over 100,000 tents are still in use following the August quake. Bolu province where the quake was centered is just 45 miles east of the areas hit hardest by the August quake. It is a mountainous region with a smaller population than the coastal area affected by the August quake, which was much more destructive.

This quake and the August Izmit quake are on the North Anatolian Fault. A release of stress on one part of the fault leads to increased pressure on neighboring sections. The section that appears to have accumulated the most stress now is near Istanbul. It is impossible to tell, however, when that quake will hit. Most of Istanbul is built on solid ground and is not likely to see the kind of damage sustained in Ismit. On the other hand it is a large city a major quake there is sure to produce considerable destruction and loss of life. The Turkish population is now very aware of earthquake danger so the long process of strengthening buildings will probably now receive a high priority from the government.

See also the following news stories:

• BBC 11/20/99 Turkish Quake: Bulldozers move in
• BBC coverage - Quake Rescue enters 2nd night 11/13/99
• BBC Full Coverage of Duzce and Ismit Quakes 11/14/99
• CNN Coverage Sunday November 14, 1999
• BBC Sci/Tech The reasons for Turkey's seismic suffering
• BBC Sci/Tech Istanbul Earthquake more Likely but Unpredictable
• BBC 4/27/00 - Istanbul Quake likely by 2030

9/21/99 Taiwan Earthquake

Updated 9/26/99

A magnitude 7.6 quake struck central Taiwan about 90 miles south of Taipei at 1:47AM Tuesday September 21, 1999 local time (17:47 9/20/99 GMT). 2,031 people were killed, 8,500 injured, 6,000 buildings were destroyed and up to 100,000 people were left homeless. Many camped out for days for fear of the continuing aftershocks; over 7,100 have been recorded so far with magnitudes as high as 6.8. Some of the aftershocks caused further building collapse and casualties. Fears of illness, poor sanitation and lack of water are now the major concerns. Rescue teams from China, Japan, the United States and Turkey, among others helped with clean-up efforts and the search for survivors. 5 days after the quake hopes are dimming for finding any more alive in the rubble, although 2 more were found after being buried for 5 days.

Although many buildings collapsed, including a 12 story hotel/apartment building in Taipei, the damage was much less than in the somewhat smaller Turkish Quake in August. This can be attributed to stronger, better enforced building codes in Taiwan. However there will be investigations of code violations in the buildings that did collapse. Rapid growth has led to a number of illegal buildings that were thought to be not up to code. Some contractors have been questioned and others were told not to leave for the time being. Officials admit that the death toll would have been lower had codes been followed.

Power was out to almost 5 million of the 22 million inhabitants of the island. The stock market was closed for 5 days following the quake and is scheduled to open for limited trading on Monday September 27. Government officials have expressed concern that the market will plunge due to concerns of the economic impact of the quake on the island nation. An emergency decree limits market declines as part of a package designed to aid in the recovery. The military will work on rebuilding and have been given special powers to combat black marketeers and looting. The government will make low interest loans available to quake victims.

Taiwan is located in the "Ring of Fire" surrounding the Pacific Ocean. This is one of the most seismically active regions of the world. Taiwan in on the boundary between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate.

See also the following news stories:

• BBC pictures of the quake
• Aftershock rattles Taiwan - CNN 9/26/99
• Two pulled alive from Taiwan rubble - BBC 9/26/99
• Building Codes Spare Taiwan - BBC 9/26/99

9/7/99 Athens Earthquake

Updated 9/9/99

A magnitude 5.8 quake struck a northern suburb of Athens at 11:56 GMT 9/7/99. 70 people were killed, 2,000 injured and 50 are still missing as rescuers dig through the rubble of over 100 collapsed buildings. Inspectors are expected to condemn thousands of damaged buildings. Most of the city's population spent the night outdoors in fear of aftershocks. The rescue efforts were hampered by heavy rain the day after the quake. The government declared a one day state of emergency. Investigations are promised into shoddy building practices, as in the much more devastating Turkish quake in August. "We will look at this with great care," said Interior Minister Vasso Papandreou. "We have some of the strictest earthquake regulations around, and if they were kept, we should not have had this much damage." See also the following news stories:

• Athens Tremor in Pictures BBC 9/8/99
• CNN coverage of the Athens Earthquake September 7, 1999

8/17/99 Turkish Earthquake

Updated 9/9/99

The city of Izmet in northwestern Turkey was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 at 00:01 GMT 8/17/99. The body wave was reported at 7.8MB. The shallow focus of the quake (10km) intensified the ground motion and therefore increased the damage from the quake. 15,135 people have been confirmed dead, over 30,000 are estimated to be missing and over 23,000 injured. There have been hundreds of aftershocks, some of them over magnitude 5. International relief agencies from around the world provided aid aid, including dogs and equipment capable of locating people buried under rubble. In the days immediately after the quake aid was slow in arriving in the devastated area. Meanwhile people were clearing collapsed buildings by hand searching for survivors.

Turkey has strong earthquake building codes due to the frequency of earthquakes in the area. However, the government has not acted to enforce them and contractors have often not built to code. Investigations following the quake have found inadequate reinforcements in the concrete and inferior sea sand, resulting in weak buildings. Contractors have been charged with negligence causing death and some have fled to avoid arrest.

This area has a long history of earthquakes. There was a magnitude 8 quake in 1939 that killed 23,000 people. The quakes in this area are caused by pressure from the Arabian plate pushing north into the Eurasian plate from the southeast while the African plate pushes north from the southwest. The fault involved in this quake is a strike slip fault similar to the San Andreas Fault in California. Scientists are studying relationships between quakes in the two areas.

See also the following news stories:

• Runaway quake builder arrested - BBC 9/6/99
• BBC Sci/Tech The reasons for Turkey's seismic suffering
• CNN coverage of the Turkish Earthquake August 19, 1999
• BBC Report - BBC coverage of the quake
• BBC Full Coverage of Duzce and Ismit Quakes 11/14/99