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in the Deccan plateau, which was considered The Bureau of Indian Standards has divided
relatively safe and free from the earthquakes. India into five earthquake zones.
CASE STUDY Affected Area : The tremors of the January
Earthquake 26,2001 earthquake were felt in an area of 4
million square kilometre. The damage occurred
Earthquakes are the most unpredictable events of
in one lakh sq. km of area. Villages, towns and
the natural calamities. Earthquakes strike without
cities situated around the epicenter were badly
warning. This calamity strikes suddenly, like
lightening, tornadoes or nuclear explosions. damaged. Most of the villages were totally
Earthquakes present a frightening experience in flattened. Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau, Rapar, Morvi,
the lives of human beings. Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Surendrangar
were the affected towns and cities.
The earth’s crust is composed of several big and
small portions called plates. These plates always Human Miseries : A popular weekly magazine
move on the molten and semi molten matter with a wide circulation has rightly called the
below. Several situations arise when these plates earthquake as a Deathquake. Thousands of
collide or go past each other or diverge from people have lost their nearest and dearest in this
each other. In each case, massive waves are calamity. These are the instances where entire
families have been wiped out. Nobody knows for
generated at a certain point, known as plate
sure, how many people have died. The govern-
tectonics, it is one of the main causes of earth-
quakes today. ment version is that 20,000 people died due to
this earthquake. But other agencies think that
Earthquakes generally occur at the plate margins,
one lakh people have died with more than the
but intraplate earthquakes (within the plates) are
double the number of the injured. Many were
not an exception. There are evidences that they
missing. Everywhere in the quake-affected area,
also occur along faults and other zones of weak-
there was only grief and anguish,loss and
ness within the plates.
destruction. Many have physically survived the
A severe earthquake stuck the Bhuj area of
calamity but mentally were finished. 400 school
Gujarat on Friday, the 26th of December, 2001.
children participating in a procession on the
This was the worst and the strongest earthquake,
occasion of the Republic Day, were buried under
the country had seen within the last fifty years. Its
the debris of falling houses in the Anjar town. In
tremors were felt throughout India and adjoining
the seismology of life, sorrow cannot be mea-
countries. It measured 8 on the Richter Scale.
sured on the richter scale. Tears in the eyes of
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