Gujarat Earthquake, India 2001

Question 1

What were the causes of the earthquake in Gujarat?

Answer 1

1. 7.9 on the richter scale
2. focus was 17km deep
3. Tremors felt in nearby Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh
4. Poor infrastructure

Question 2

What were the primary impacts in Gujarat?

Answer 2

1. 20 000- 30 000 dead
2. 160 000 injured
3. 345 dwellings destroyed including houses and blocks of flats
4. 800 000 buildings damaged
5. Small towns such as Bhuj, Bhachau and Anjar destroyed

Question 3

What were the secondary impacts in Gujarat?

Answer 3

1. Several hundred after shocks
2. Looting as the authorities were a mess
3. Anxiety and depression
4. Diarrhoea
5. 20 000 cattle lost (agriculture is the main industry)
6. $4-5 billion in damage
7. 1 million people at least received some aid
8. 1 million people homeless

Question 4

What were the responses to the Gujarat earthquake in 2001?

Answer 4

1. Rescue teams
2. 69 rescuers from Britain to get trapped people out
3. Disinfectant sprayed on rubble to prevent the spread of disease
4. Water purification tablets handed out
5. 5 000 troops with helicopters
6. Naval vessels acting as hospitals
7. Aid distributed
8. Widespread epidemics of cholera and typhoid prevented by swift action