COLLECTION OF LITERATURE

ON

WORLD’S SIGNIFICANT
EARTHQUAKES

BY

YOGENDRA SINGH

DEPARTMENT OF EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE
 Earthquakes with 1,000 or More Deaths from 1900
Date UTC Location Deaths Magnitude Comments
1902 Apr 19 Guatemala 2,000 7.5
14 N 91 W
1902 Dec 16 Turkestan 4,500 6.4
40.8 N 72.6 E
1903 Apr 19 Turkey 1,700
39.1 N 42.4 E
1903 Apr 28 Turkey 2,200 6.3
39.1 N 42.5 E
1905 Apr 4 India, Kangra 19,000 7.5
33.0 N 76.0 E
1905 Sep 8 Italy, Calabria 2,500 7.9
39.4 N 16.4 E
1906 Jan 31 Colombia-Ecuador 1,000 8.8
1 N 81.5 W
1906 Mar 16 Formosa, Kagi 1,300 7.1
(Taiwan)
23.6 N 120.5 E
1906 Apr 18 San Francisco, about 7.8 Deaths from earthquake and fire.
California 3,000
38.0 N 123.0 W
1906 Aug 17 Chile, Valparaiso 20,000 8.2
33 S 72 W
1907 Jan 14 Jamaica, Kingston 1,600 6.5
18.2 N 76.7 W
1907 Oct 21 Central Asia 12,000 8.1
38 N 69 E
1908 Dec 28 Italy, Messina 70,000 7.2 Deaths from earthquake and tsunami.
38 N 15.5 E to
100,000
1909 Jan 23 Iran 5,500 7.3
33.4 N 49.1 E
Marmara Sea
1912 Aug 9 1,950 7.8
40.5 N 27 E
1915 Jan 13 Italy, Avezzano 29,980 7.5
42 N 13.5 E
1917 Jan 21 Indonesia, Bali 15,000
8.0 S 115.4 E
1917 Jul 30 China 1,800 6.5
28.0 N 104.0 E
1918 Feb 13 China, Kwangtung 10,000 7.3
(Guangdong)
23.5 N 117.0 E
1920 Dec 16 China, Gansu 200,000 7.8 Major fractures, landslides.
35.8 N 105.7 E
1923 Mar 24 China 5,000 7.3
31.3 N 100.8 E
1923 May 25 Iran 2,200 5.7
35.3 N 59.2 E
1923 Sep 1 Japan, Kanto 143,000 7.9 Great Tokyo fire.
35.0 N 139.5 E
1925 Mar 16 China, Yunnan 5,000 7.1 Talifu almost completely destroyed.
25.5 N 100.3 E
1927 Mar 7 Japan, Tango 3,020 7.6
35.8 N 134.8 E
1927 May 22 China, Tsinghai 200,000 7.9 Large fractures.
36.8 N 102.8 E
1929 May 1 Iran 3,300 7.4
38 N 58 E
1930 May 6 Iran 2,500 7.2
38.0 N 44.5 E
1930 Jul 23 Italy 1,430 6.5
41.1 N 15.4 E
1931 Mar 31 Nicaragua 2,400 5.6
13.2 N 85.7 W
1932 Dec 25 China, Gansu 70,000 7.6
39.7 N 97.0 E
1933 Mar 2 Japan, Sanriku 2,990 8.4
39.0 N 143.0 E
1933 Aug 25 China 10,000 7.4
32.0 N 103.7 E
1934 Jan 15 India, Bihar-Nepal 10,700 8.1
26.6 N 86.8 E
1935 Apr 20 Formosa 3,280 7.1
24.0 N 121.0 E
1935 May 30 Pakistan, Quetta 30,000 7.5 Quetta almost completely destroyed.
29.6 N 66.5 E to
60,000
1935 Jul 16 Taiwan 2,700 6.5
24.4 N 120.7 E
1939 Jan 25 Chile, Chillan 28,000 8.3
36.2 S 72.2 W
1939 Dec 26 Turkey, Erzincan 30,000 7.8
39.6 N 38 E
1940 Nov 10 Romania 1,000 7.3
45.8 N 26.8 E
1942 Nov 26 Turkey 4,000 7.6
40.5 N 34.0 E
1942 Dec 20 Turkey, Erbaa 3,000 7.3 Some reports of 1,000 killed.
40.9 N 36.5 E
1943 Sep 10 Japan, Tottori 1,190 7.4
35.6 N 134.2 E
1943 Nov 26 Turkey 4,000 7.6
41.0 N 33.7 E
1944 Jan 15 Argentina, San Juan 5,000 7.8 Reports of as many as 8,000 killed.
31.6 S 68.5 W
1944 Feb 1 Turkey 2,800 7.4 Reports of as many as 5,000 killed.
41.4 N 32.7 E
1944 Dec 7 Japan, Tonankai 1,000 8.1
33.7 N 136.2 E
1945 Jan 12 Japan Mikawa 1,900 7.1
34.8 N 137.0 E
1945 Nov 27 Iran 4,000 8.2
25.0 N 60.5 E
1946 May 31 Turkey 1,300 6.0
39.5 N 41.5 E
1946 Nov 10 Peru, Ancash 1,400 7.3 Landslides, great destruction.
8.3 S 77.8 W
1946 Dec 20 Japan, Tonankai 1,330 8.1
32.5 N 134.5 E
1948 Jun 28 Japan, Fukui 5,390 7.3
36.1 N 136.2 E
1948 Oct 5 USSR 110,000 7.3
(Turkmenistan,
Ashgabat)
38.0 N 58.3 E
1949 Aug 5 Ecuador, Ambato 6,000 6.8 Large landslides, topographical changes.
1.2 S 78.5 E
1950 Aug 15 India, Assam, Tibet 1,530 8.6 Great topographical changes, landslides,
28.7 N 96.6 E floods.
1954 Sep 9 Algeria, Orleansville 1,250 6.8
36 N 1.6 E
1957 Jun 27 USSR 1,200
(Russia)
56.3 N 116.5 E
1957 Jul 2 Iran 1,200 7.4
36.2 N 52.7 E
1957 Dec 13 Iran 1,130 7.3
34.4 N 47.6 E
1960 Feb 29 Morocco, Agadir 10,000 5.7 Occurred at shallow depth just under city.
30 N 9 W to
15,000
1960 May 22 Chile 4,000 9.5* Tsunami, volcanic activity, floods.
39.5 S 74.5 W to 5,000
1962 Sep 1 Iran, Qazvin 12,230 7.3
35.6 N 49.9 E
1963 Jul 26 Yugoslavia, Skopje 1,100 6.0 Occurred at shallow depth just under city.
42.1 N 21.4 E
1966 Aug 19 Turkey, Varto 2,520 7.1
39.2 N 41.7 E
1968 Aug 31 Iran 12,000 7.3
34.0 N 59.0 E to
20,000
1969 Jul 25 Eastern China 3,000 5.9
21.6 N 111.9 E
1970 Jan 4 Yunnan Province, China 10,000 7.5
24.1 N 102.5 E
1970 Mar 28 Turkey, Gediz 1,100 7.3
39.2 N 29.5 E
1970 May 31 Peru 66,000 7.9 $530,000,000 damage, great rock slide,
9.2 S 78.8 W floods.
1972 Apr 10 Iran, southern 5,054 7.1
28.4 N 52.8 E
1972 Dec 23 Nicaragua, Managua 5,000 6.2
 12.4 N 86.1 W
1974 May 10 China 20,000 6.8
28.2 N 104.0 E
1974 Dec 28 Pakistan 5,300 6.2
35.0 N 72.8 E
1975 Feb 4 China 10,000 7.0
40.6 N 122.5 E
1975 Sep 6 Turkey 2,300 6.7
38.5 N 40.7 E
1976 Feb 4 Guatemala 23,000 7.5
15.3 N 89.1 W
1976 May 6 Italy, northeastern 1,000 6.5
46.4 N 13.3 E
1976 Jun 25 West Irian 422 7.1 5,000 to 9,000 missing and presumed dead.
(New Guinea)
4.6 S 140.1 E
1976 Jul 27 China, Tangshan 255,000 7.5 Estimated death toll as high as 655,000.
39.6 N 118.0 E (official)
1976 Aug 16 Philippines, Mindanao 8,000 7.9
6.3 N 124.0 E
1976 Nov 24 Northwest 5,000 7.3 Deaths estimated.
Iran-USSR border
39.1 N 44.0 E
1977 Mar 4 Romania 1,500 7.2
45.8 N 26.8 E
1978 Sep 16 Iran 15,000 7.8
33.2 N 57.4 E
1980 Oct 10 Algeria, El Asnam 3,500 7.7
(formerly Orleansville)
36.1 N 1.4 E
1980 Nov 23 Italy, southern 3,000 7.2
40.9 N 15.3 E
1981 Jun 11 Iran, southern 3,000 6.9
29.9 N 57.7 E
1981 Jul 28 Iran, southern 1,500 7.3
30.0 N 57.8 E
1982 Dec 13 Western Arabian 2,800 6.0
Peninsula
14.7 N 44.4 E
1983 Oct 30 Turkey 1,342 6.9
40.3 N 42.2 E
1985 Sep 19 Mexico, Michoacan 9,500 8.0 Estimated death toll as high as 30,000.
18.2 N 102.5 W (official)
1986 Oct 10 El Salvador 1,000+ 5.5
13.8 N 89.2 W
1987 Mar 6 Colombia-Ecuador 1,000+ 7.0
0.2 N 77.8 W
1988 Aug 20 Nepal-India border 1,450 6.6
region
26.8 N 86.6 E
1988 Dec 7 Armenia, Spitak 25,000 6.8
41.0 N 44.2 E
1990 Jun 20 Western Iran 40,000 7.7 Landslides.
37.0 N 49.4 E to
50,000
1990 Jul 16 Luzon, Philippine 1,621 7.8 Landslides, subsidence, and sandblows.
Islands
15.7 N 121.2 E
1991 Oct 19 Northern India 2,000 7.0
30.8 N 78.8 E
1992 Dec 12 Flores Region, 2,500 7.5 Tsunami ran inland 300 meters; wave height 25 meters.
Indonesia
8.5 S 121.9 E
1993 Sep 29 India, Latur-Killari 9,748 6.2
18.1 N 76.5 E
1995 Jan 16 Japan, Kobe 5,502 6.9 Landslide, liquifaction.
34.6 N 135 E
1995 May 27 Sakhalin Island 1,989 7.5
52.6 N 142.8 E
1997 May 10 Northern Iran 1,560 7.5 4,460 injured, 60,000 homeless.
33.9 N 59.7 E
1998 Feb 04 Afghanistan-Tajikistan 2,323 6.1 818 injured, 8,094 houses destroyed, 6,725 livestock kill
Border Region
37.1 N 70.1 E
1998 May 30 Afghanistan-Tajikistan 4,000 6.9 At least 4,000 people killed, many thousands injured and
Border Region homeless in Badakhshan and Takhar Provinces, Afghan
37.1 N 70.1 E
1998 Jul 17 Papua New Guinea, 2,183 7.0 Thousands injured, about 9,500 homeless and about 50
2.96 S 141.9 E missing as a result of a tsunami with maximum wave hei
estimated at 10 meters.
1999 Jan 25 Colombia 1,185 6.2 Over 700 missing and presumed killed, over 4,750 injure
4.46 N 75.82 W about 250,000 homeless.
1999 Aug 17 Turkey 17,118 7.6 At least 50,000 injured, thousands homeless. Damage e
40.7 N 30.0 E at 3 to 6.5 billion USD.
1999 Sep 20 Taiwan 2,297 7.7 Over 8,700 injured, over 600,000 homeless. Damage es
23.7 N 121.0 E at 14 billion USD.
2001 Jan 26 India 20,023 7.7 166,836 injured, 600,000 homeless.
23.3 N 70.3 E
2002 Mar 25 Hindu Kush Region, 1,000 6.1 4,000 injured, 1,500 houses destroyed in the Nahrin area
Afghanistan Approximately 20,000 people homeless.
35.9 N 69.2 E
2003 May 21 Northern Algeria 2,266 6.8 10,261 injured, 150,000 homeless, more than 1,243 buil
36.90 N 3.71 E damaged or destroyed.
2003 Dec 26 Southeastern Iran 26,200 6.6 30,000 injured, 85 percent of buildings damaged or dest
28.99 N 58.31 E and infrastructure damaged in the Bam area
2004 Dec 26 Sumatra 283,106 9.0 Deaths from earthquake and tsunami.
3.30 N 95.87 E
2005 Mar 28 Northern Sumatra, 1,313 8.7
Indonesia
2.07 N 97.01 E

* Recomputed magnitude
Data compiled from several sources.
Most Destructive Known Earthquakes on Record in the World
Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths

Listed in order of greatest number of deaths

Date Location Deaths Magnitude Comments

January 23, 1556 China, Shansi 830,000 ~8
December 26, 2004 Sumatra 283,106 9.0 Deaths from earthquake and
tsunami.
July 27, 1976 China, Tangshan 255,000 7.5 Estimated death toll as high
(official) as 655,000.
August 9, 1138 Syria, Aleppo 230,000
May 22, 1927 China, near Xining 200,000 7.9 Large fractures.
December 22, 856+ Iran, Damghan 200,000
December 16, 1920 China, Gansu 200,000 7.8 Major fractures, landslides.
March 23, 893+ Iran, Ardabil 150,000
September 1, 1923 Japan, Kanto 143,000 7.9 Great Tokyo fire.
(Kwanto)
October 5, 1948 USSR 110,000 7.3
(Turkmenistan, Ashgabat)
December 28, 1908 Italy, Messina 70,000 to 7.2 Deaths from earthquake and
100,000 tsunami.
(estimated)
September, 1290 China, Chihli 100,000
November, 1667 Caucasia, Shemakha 80,000
November 18, 1727 Iran, Tabriz 77,000
November 1, 1755 Portugal, Lisbon 70,000 8.7 Great tsunami.
December 25, 1932 China, Gansu 70,000 7.6
May 31, 1970 Peru 66,000 7.9 $530,000,000 damage, great
rock slide, floods.
1268 Asia Minor, Silicia 60,000
January 11, 1693 Italy, Sicily 60,000
May 30, 1935 Pakistan, Quetta 30,000 to 7.5 Quetta almost completely
60,000 destroyed.
February 4, 1783 Italy, Calabria 50,000
June 20, 1990 Iran 50,000 7.7 Landslides.

+ Note that these dates are prior to 1000 AD. No digit is missing.

NOTE: Some sources list an earthquake that killed 300,00 people in Calcutta, India, on October 11,
1737.
Recent studies indicate that these casualties were most likely due to a cyclone, not an earthquake.
(Source: The 1737 Calcutta Earthquake and Cyclone Evaluated by Roger Bilham, BSSA, Vol. 84, No. 5,
1650-1657, October 1994)

Data compiled from several sources.

Largest Earthquakes in the World Since 1900

Location Date UTC Magnitude Coordinates

1. Chile 1960 05 22 9.5 -38.24 -73.05
2. Prince William Sound, Alaska 1964 03 28 9.2 61.02 -147.65
3. Off the West Coast of Northern 2004 12 26 9.0 3.30 95.78
Sumatra
4. Kamchatka 1952 11 04 9.0 52.76 160.06
5. Off the Coast of Ecuador 1906 01 31 8.8 1.0 -81.5
6. Northern Sumatra, Indonesia 2005 03 28 8.7 2.08 97.01
7. Rat Islands, Alaska 1965 02 04 8.7 51.21 178.50
8. Andreanof Islands, Alaska 1957 03 09 8.6 51.56 -175.39
9. Assam - Tibet 1950 08 15 8.6 28.5 96.5
10. Kuril Islands 1963 10 13 8.5 44.9 149.6
11. Banda Sea, Indonesia 1938 02 01 8.5 -5.05 131.62
12. Chile-Argentina Border 1922 11 11 8.5 -28.55 -70.50
Chile
1960 May 22 19:11:14 UTC
Magnitude 9.5

The Largest Earthquake in

the World

More than 2,000 killed, 3,000

injured, 2,000,000 homeless, and
$550 million damage in southern
Chile; tsunami caused 61 deaths,
$75 million damage in Hawaii;
138 deaths and $50 million
damage in Japan; 32 dead and
missing in the Philippines; and
$500,000 damage to the west
coast of the United States.

Beginning on 21 May 1960,

southern Chile was ravaged by a series of arthquakes whose foci lie within a band
1,300 km long, between latitudes 37deg and 48 deg S. The epicentres follow the
main SSW.-NNE. feature, continental in the north, submarine in the south,
separating a region which has risen (coast of Lebu) from a vast region which has
subsided.

The official death roll rose to 660 dead and 717 missing, numbers much lower than
those first announced in the press; 58,622 houses were completely destroyed
(Tazieff, 1962). Damage was put at $550 million.

A succession of large destructive earthquakes in the space of a few hours made it

impossible to draw isoseismic maps. The first shock caused major damage ac
Concepcion, especially in the lower parts of the town (intensity IX). Damage was
also observed at Talcahuano (intensity IX), Coronel (intensity IX), Lota (intensity
IX) and Lebu (intensity X). The shocks of 22 May affected especially southern
Chile: Valdivia (intensity X), Puerto Montt (lower town) (intensity X-XI), Rio
Negro (intensity IX-X), Temuco (intensity VIII), Osorno (intensity VII-VIII), Puerto
Saavedra (intensity VII-VIII), Llanquihue (intensity VII-VIII), Villarica (intensity
VII) (Duke and Leeds, 1963; Rothe, 1961).

Important modifications to the coastal relief were observed. Rock falls and
landslides occurred in the Andes, forming an artificial lake on the Rio San Pedro,
the outlet of Lake Rinihue. The Puyehue volcano erupted on 24 May at about 18 h,
47 hours after the main shock....

The main shock set up a large tsunami. Although the warning system worked
well, the wave caused 61 deaths, injured 282 and did damage amounting to $20
million on the island of Hawaii (Eaton, et al., 1961; Lachmann et al., 1961). In
Japan, the coast of Honshu was ravaged (100 dead, 85 missing, 855 injured, 1,678
homes destroyed (Momoi, 1963; Takahasi, 1963; Taneda, 1961). The coasts of
California, New Zealand, Australia and Kamchatka were also affected (Rothe,
1961).

A magnitude 8.6 earthquake off the coast of Chile caused $550 million damage in
Chile and 1,000 deaths; about $24 million damage in Hawaii (oral communication,
Hawaii Office of Civil Defense) and 61 deaths; $50 million damage in Japan and
199 deaths; and about $500,000 to $1,000,000 in damage on the west coast of the
United States. Local runups measured as much as 25 m and runups in Japan were
more than 6 m. The largest wave height in California was measured at the
Crescent City tide gage was 1.7 m. Iida et al. (1967) give 3.7 m, but the tide gage as
reproduced in Berkman and Symons (1964) gives the 1.7 m amplitude. Waves of
1.5 m were observed at Stenson Beach. The amplitude was more than 1.4 m at
Santa Monica. The amplitude at Port Hueneme was 1.3 m and 1.2 m at Pacifica.
The tsunami was recorded widely along the Pacific coast with amplitudes less than
1 m. Two vessels valued at $30,000 were lost at Crescent City. Major damage was
reported in the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. An estimated 300 small craft
were set adrift and about 30 sunk including a 24 m yacht which smashed into
bridge piers partially disabling the bridge. The Yacht Center lost 235 boat landing
slips and 110 more were destroyed at the Colonial Yacht Anchorage and Cerritos
Yacht Anchorage for a loss of $300,000. A skin diver, Raymond Stuart, was missing
and presumed drowned at Cabrillo Beach, but no death certificate was found. In
the harbor currents estimated to be 22 km/hr snapped and washed out pilings.
Many thousands of liters of gasoline and oil spilled from the overturn of the boats
prompting fears of a fire. Several buoys and navigational aids were swept away at
Terminal Island. The Coast Guard landing including the tide gage was washed 5.6
km to sea but was rescued. A mess boy fell 6 m from the bridge of the first ship to
attempt to leave the harbor the next day. The ship returned to harbor so his
injuries could be treated at the hospital. The accident was blamed on rough seas.

At San Diego, ferry service was interruped after one passenger-laden ferry
smashed into the dock at Coronado knocking out eight pilings. A second ferry was
forced 1.5 km off couse and into a flotilla of anchored destroyers. More than 80 m
of dock were destroyed. A 100 ton dredge rammed the concrete pilings supporting
the Mission Bay bridge tearing out a 21 m section. A 45 m bait barge smashed
eight slips at the Seaforth Landing before breaking in half and sinking. The
currents swept 12 and 30 m floats from the San Diego Harbor Masters Pier on
Shelter Island and swept away two sections of dockage at the Southwest Yacht
Club at Point Loma.

At Santa Monica the water fell so low that the bottom of the breakwater was nearly
exposed. Eight small craft snapped mooring lines but were taken in tow. One
surge swept more than 91 m up the beach flooding a parking lot just off the Pacific
coast Highway.
At Santa Barbara a drifting oil exploration barge repeatedly rammed the new
dredge causing at least $10,000 in damage. An additional $10,000 was done
elsewhere including damage to 40 small craft set adrift there."

What were the main causes and overall effects of the 1960 chilean tsunami?

The tsunami was generated the by Chile earthquake of 1960, the largest
earthquake ever recorded (it was magnitude 9.6). What happened in the
earthquake was that a piece of the Pacific seafloor (or strictly speaking, the Nazca
Plate) about the size of California slid fifty feet beneath the continent of South
America. Like a spring, the lower slopes of the South American continent offshore
snapped upwards as much as twenty feet while land along the Chile coast
dropped about ten feet. This change in the shape of the ocean bottom changed the
shape of the sea surface. Since the sea surface likes to be flat, the pile of excess
water at the surface collapsed to creat a series of waves--the tsunami.
The tsunami, together with the coastal subsidence and flooding, caused
tremendous damage along the Chile coast, where about 2,000 people died. The
waves spread outwards across the Pacific. 15 hours later the waves flooded Hilo,
on the island of Hawaii, where they built up to thirty feet and caused 61 deaths
along the waterfront. Seven hours after that (22 hours after the earthquake) the
waves flooded the coastline of Japan where ten-foot waves caused 200 deaths. The
waves also caused damage in the Marquesas, in Samoa, and in New Zealand. Tide
gauges throughout the Pacific measured anomalous oscillations for about three
days as the waves bounced from one side of the ocean to the other.

Travel times (in hours) are shown for the tsunamis produced by the 1960 Concepción, Chile,
earthquake (purple curves) and by the 1964 Good Friday, Valdez (Anchorage), Alaska earthquake
(red curves). The 1960 tsunamis killed 61 people and caused about $24 million in damage.
Prince William Sound, Alaska
1964 March 28 03:36:14 UTC (local time: March 27 05:36:14 p.m.)
Magnitude 9.2

Largest Earthquake in Alaska

This great earthquake and ensuing tsunami took 125 lives (tsunami 110,
earthquake 15), and caused about $311 million in property loss. Earthquake effects
were heavy in many towns, including Anchorage, Chitina, Glennallen, Homer,
Hope, Kasilof, Kenai, Kodiak, Moose Pass, Portage, Seldovia, Seward, Sterling,
Valdez, Wasilla, and
Whittier.

Anchorage, about 120

kilometers northwest of
the epicenter, sustained
the most severe damage
to property. About 30
blocks of dwellings and
commercial buildings
were damaged or
destroyed in the
downtown area. The J.C.
Penny Company
building was damaged
beyond repair; the Four
Seasons apartment
building, a new six-story
structure, collapsed; and
many other multistory
buildings were damaged
heavily. The schools in
Anchorage were almost devastated. The Government Hill Grade School, sitting
astride a huge landslide, was almost a total loss. Anchorage High School and
Denali Grade School were damaged severely. Duration of the shock was estimated
at 3 minutes.

Landslides in Anchorage caused heavy damage. Huge slides occurred in the

downtown business section, at Government Hill, and at Turnagain Heights. The
largest and most devastating landslide occurred at Turnagain Heights. An area of
about 130 acres was devasted by displacements that broke the ground into many
deranged blocks that were collapsed and tilted at all angles. This slide destroyed
about 75 private houses. Water mains and gas, sewer, telephone, and electrical
systems were disrupted throughout the area.

The earthquake was accompanied by vertical displacement over an area of about

520,000 square kilometers. The major area of uplift trended northeast from
southern Kodiak Island to Price William Sound and trended east-west to the east
of the sound. Vertical displacements ranged from about 11.5 meters of uplift to 2.3
meters of subsidence relative to sea level. Off the southwest end of Montague
Island, there was absolute vertical displacement of about 13 - 15 meters. Uplift also
occurred along the extreme southeast coast of Kodiak Island, Sitkalidak Island,
and over part or all of Sitkinak Island. This zone of subsidence covered about
285,000 square kilometers, including the north and west parts of Prince William
Sound, the west part of the Chugach Mountains, most of Kenai Peninsula, and
almost all the Kodiak Island group.

This shock generated a tsunami that devasted many towns along the Gulf of
Alaska, and left serious damage at Alberni and Port Alberni, Canada, along the
West Coast of the United States (15 killed), and in Hawaii. The maximum wave
height recorded was 67 meters at Valdez Inlet. Seiche action in rivers, lakes,
bayous, and protected harbors and waterways along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana
and Texas caused minor damage. It was also recorded on tide gages in Cuba and
Puerto Rico.

This great earthquake was felt over a large area of Alaska and in parts of western
Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Canada.

WEST COAST & ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER

More than 90% of the deaths in Alaska during the 1964 earthquake and subsequent
tsunamis were due to the tsunamis. The potential death and devastation from
tsunamis make the coastal areas of Alaska extremely dangerous and necessitate
continuous 24 hour earthquake monitoring for each day of the year by a full time
staff at the West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center located in Palmer. The
1964 earthquake and tsunami deaths alerted State and Federal officials to the need
for a facility to respond to the need for timely and effective tsunami warnings and
earthquake information for Alaska and the northern Pacific. In 1967 and as a result
of the earthquake and tsunamis, the West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning
System (WC&ATWC) was established in Palmer to mitigate the tsunami hazard
(Sokolowski, 1990). The primary mission of the WC&ATWC is to provide tsunami
warnings for Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in
Canada. A secondary mission of the Center is to provide immediate earthquake
information to the general public, media, National and International agencies, and
to many other recipients including both State and Federal disaster preparedness
agencies. The Center is highly automated with state-of-the-art computers and
techniques which make the information immediately available.

ALASKAN EARTHQUAKES and TSUNAMIGENESIS

Although Alaska's seismic and tsunamigenic history is only about 200 years or so,
it is extremely seismic with the Pacific plate subducting under the North American
plate. This subduction zone is referred to as the Aleutian-Alaska megathrust zone
and makes the coastal areas very dangerous with regard to tsunami generation -
tsunamigenesis. The vertical crustal movements in this area result in vertical sea
floor displacements, thus highly tsunamigenic. Three past tsunamis that were
generated in Alaska have resulted in Pacific wide death and destruction.
Tsunamigenic events occurring about the Alaskan Peninsula, Aleutians, and Gulf
of Alaska have a very high potential for generating local and Pacific wide
tsunamis. In the southeast, the major fault is the Fairweather fault which does have
a history of vertical displacements (>12 meters), but is inland. This fault has not
caused large tectonic tsunamis as the other Alaskan areas. However, events
occurring in this region have induced large subareal and submarine landslides,
which in turn, have generated massive local tsunamis. Subareal and submarine
landslides, with induced massive local tsunamis, can and have occurred in this
area without an earthquake!

THE 1964 EARTHQUAKE

The great Alaskan earthquake of 1964 was the largest earthquake in North
America and the second largest ever recorded (largest occurred in Chile in 1960).
The nine deaths that were due to the earthquake occurred in downtown
Anchorage (5), Turnagain Heights (3), and at the International Airport (1). The
earthquake occurred at 5:36pm on March 27, 1964, Alaska Standard Time (or, at
03:36 Universal Time code on March 28, 1964). The epicenter was in the Northern
Prince William Sound (61.1N 147.5W) about 75 miles E of Anchorage, or about 55
miles west of Valdez. The reported Richter magnitudes (Ms) for this earthquake
ranged from 8.4 to 8.6. The moment magnitude (Mw) is reported as 9.2. The depth,
or point where the rupture began was about 14 miles within the earth's crust.

The strong ground motion reported in the Anchorage area lasted about 4-5
minutes which triggered many avalanches and landslides - some being
tsunamigenic. Ground deformations were extensive with some areas east of
Kodiak being raised by 30 feet and areas about Portage being dropped by 8 feet
(Pflaker, 1964). The rise is estimated to come in two thrusts of about 5 meters each.
The maximum intensity reported was XI on the modified Mercalli Intensity scale,
indicating major structural damage, and ground fissures and failures. This scale is
a 12-point one usually given in roman numerals ranging from I, (not felt/no
damage) to XII (total destruction many lives lost). From this event, significant
damage covered an area of about 50,000 square miles. Intensities of IV-V (felt by
most people/minor damage) were reported as far away as Cold Bay, Bethel,
McGrath, Kotzebue, Deadhorse, Ft. Yukon, Eagle and Skagway.

THE 1964 TSUNAMIS

The 1964 earthquake caused 115 deaths in Alaska alone, with 106 of these due to
tsunamis which were generated by tectonic uplift of the sea floor, and by localized
subareal and submarine landslides. The earthquake shaking caused at least 5 local
slide generated tsunamis within minutes after the shaking began. (In general,
slide/slump induced tsunamis are generated within a few minutes after an
earthquake starts.) These five occurred at Valdez(2), Seward, Whittier, and
Kachemak Bay. As an example and in brief summary: In Seward, a section of the
water front (1070m) slid into the Resurrection Bay due to the earthquake shaking.
This created a local tsunami causing much damage and the spreading of oil which
was on fire and floating on the water. About 20 minutes after this occurred, the
first wave of the main tsunami arrived. The 11-13 fatalities in Seward were due to
the local and the main tsunami.

Tsunamis generated by the 1964 earthquake (and their subsequent damage, loss of
life, etc.) were recorded throughout the Pacific (Lander and Lockridge, 1989). This
was the most disastrous tsunami to hit the U.S. West Coast and British Columbia
in Canada. The largest wave height for this tsunami was reported at Shoup Bay,
Valdez Inlet (67 meters). Summary of lives lost and damage for Alaska, Canada,
Washington, Oregon and California are: Alaska- 106 deaths and $84 million;
British Columbia- $10 million; Washington- minor damage throughout the coast;
Oregon- 4 deaths and $0.7 million, with much of the damage away from the coast
where rivers overflowed; California- 13 deaths and $10 million damage. Many
places that reported damage or lives lost are given below.

Magnitude 9.0 - SUMATRA-ANDAMAN ISLANDS

EARTHQUAKE
OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
2004 December 26 00:58:53 UTC

Magnitude 9.0
Date-Time Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:53 (UTC)
= Coordinated Universal Time
Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 7:58:53 AM
= local time at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 3.307° N 95.947° E
Depth 30 km (18.6 miles) set by location program
Region OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
Distances
255 km (155 miles) SSE of Banda Aceh, Sumatra,
Indonesia
310 km (195 miles) W of Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia
1260 km (780 miles) SSW of BANGKOK, Thailand
1605 km (990 miles) NW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia
Location horizontal +/- 5.6 km (3.5 miles); depth fixed by location
Uncertainty program
Parameters Nst=370, Nph=488, Dmin=644.5 km, Rmss=1.17 sec,
Gp= 29°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=U
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usslav
Felt Reports: This is the fourth largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and is
the largest since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake. In total, more
than 283,100 people were killed, 14,100 are still listed as missing, and 1,126,900
were displaced by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 10 countries in South
Asia and East Africa.The earthquake itself caused severe damage and casualties in
northern Sumatra, Indonesia and in the Nicobar Islands, India. It was felt (IX) at
Banda Aceh, (VIII) at Meulaboh and (IV) at Medan, Sumatra; (VII) at Port Blair,
Andaman Islands, India; (III-V) in parts of Bangladesh, mainland India, Malaysia,
Maldives, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The tsunami caused more
casualties than any other in recorded history and was recorded nearly world-wide
on tide gauges in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. At least 108,100 people
were killed and 127,700 are missing and presumed killed by the earthquake and
tsunami in Indonesia. Tsunamis killed at least 30,900 people in Sri Lanka, 10,700 in
India, 5,300 in Thailand, 150 in Somalia, 90 in Myanmar, 82 in Maldives, 68 in
Malaysia, 10 in Tanzania, 3 in Seychelles, 2 in Bangladesh and 1 in Kenya.
Tsunamis caused damage in Madagascar and Mauritius and caused minor damage
at two places on the west coast of Australia. Seiches were observed in India and
the United States and water level fluctuations occurred in wells in various parts of
the United States. Subsidence and landslides were observed in Sumatra. A mud
volcano near Baratang, Andaman Islands became active on December 28 and gas
emissions were reported in Arakan, Myanmar. (last updated 2/15/05)

The devastating earthquake of 26 December 2004 occurred as thrust-faulting on

the interface of the India plate and the Burma plate. In a period of minutes, the
faulting released elastic strains that had accumulated for centuries from ongoing
subduction of the India plate beneath the overriding Burma plate.

In a broad sense, the India and Australian plates move toward the north- northeast
with respect to the interior of the Eurasia plate with velocities of about 60 mm/y in
the region of the earthquake. In the region of northern Sumatra and the Nicobar
Islands, most of the relative motion of India/Australia and the Eurasia plate is
accommodated at the Sunda trench and within several hundred kilometers to the
east of the Sunda trench, on the boundaries of the Burma plate. The direction in
which India/Australia converges toward Eurasia is oblique to the trend of the
Sunda trench. The oblique motion is partitioned into thrust-faulting and strike-slip
faulting. The thrust faulting occurs on the interface between the India plate and the
western margin of the Burma plate and involves slip directed at a large angle to
the orientation of the trench. The strike-slip faulting occurs on the eastern
boundary of the Burma plate and involves slip directed approximately parallel to
the trench. The 26 December main shock occurred as the result of thrust faulting
on the western Burma-plate boundary, but many strike-slip faulting aftershocks
occurred on the eastern plate boundary.

Currently available models of the 26 December main-shock fault displacement

differ in many interesting details, but are consistent in implying that fault- rupture
propagated to the northwest from the epicenter and that substantial fault-rupture
occurred hundreds of kilometers northwest of the epicenter. The data upon which
the modeling is based do not permit confident resolution of the extent of rupture
beyond about 500 km northwest of the main-shock epicenter. The width of the
earthquake rupture, measured perpendicular to the Sunda trench, is estimated to
have been about 150 kilometers and the maximum displacement on the fault plane
about 20 meters. The sea floor overlying the thrust fault would have been uplifted
by several meters as a result of the earthquake.

The zone of aftershocks to the 26 December earthquake is over 1300 km long.

Because aftershocks occur on and very near the fault-planes of main shocks, the
length of the aftershock zone suggests that main-shock fault-rupture may have
extended north of the epicenter by an amount significantly larger than 500 km.
However, a great earthquake may also trigger earthquake activity on faults that
are distinct from the main-shock fault plane and separated from it by tens or even
hundreds of kilometers. We will not know until further analysis how much of the
26 December aftershock zone may correspond to activity in the immediate vicinity
of the main-shock rupture, and how much may correspond to activity remote from
the main-shock rupture.

Since 1900, earthquakes similarly sized or larger than the 26 December earthquake
have been the magnitude 9.0 1952 Kamchatka earthquake, the magnitude 9.1 1957
Andreanof Islands, Alaska, earthquake, the magnitude 9.5 1960 Chile earthquake,
and the magnitude 9.2 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska, earthquake. All of these
earthquakes, like the one on 26 December, were mega-thrust events, occurring
where one tectonic plate subducts beneath another. All produced destructive
tsunamis, although deaths and damage from the 26 December tsunami far exceed
those caused by tsunamis associated with the earlier earthquakes.
Kamchatka
1952 November 04 16:58:26.0 UTC
Magnitude 9.0

N.B: The magnitude for this earthquake has been recalculated since the following articles
were written. Magnitude 9.0 is a better determination of the size of this earthquake.

A severe and locally damaging tsunami generated on Kamchatka by a magnitude

8.2 earthquake struck the Hawaiian Islands at 1:00 P.M. Property damage from
these waves was estimated at $800,000 to $1,000,000; however, no lives were lost.
The waves beached boats, caused houses to collide, destroyed piers, scoured
beaches, moved road pavement, etc. A farmer on Oahu reported 6 cows killed. In
Honolulu harbor, waves tore a cement barge from its moorings and hurled it
against the freighter Hawaiian Packer. At Pearl Harbor, Oahu, the tsunami was
evidenced by the periodic rise and fall of the water, but no damage was done.
Loomis (1967) reports wave heights of 9.1 m at Kaena Point, Oahu. Pararas-
Carayannis and Calebaugh, (1977) report much damage on Oahu's north coast
including Waialua. A boathouse worth $13,000 was demolished in Hilo when
water 2.4 m high swept over the wharf. One span of the bridge to Coconut Island
was destroyed. The highest wave on Hawaii of 3.5 m above MLLW (or 3.2 m
above the tide stage) was reported here and at Reed's Bay. The Naniloa Hotel had
flood damage. Houses were knocked from their foundations. Coast Guard buoys
weighing 11 metric tons were ripped loose from their moorings. Damage in Hilo,
Hawaii was estimated at $400,000. Damage on Maui was greatest in the Kahului-
Spreckelsville area. The wave caused the tide gaga at Kahului to go off scale and
stop recording. Pararas-Carayannis and Calebaugh report 10.4 m at Haena Point,
Kauai, but this is identical to the value for the March 3, 1957 tsunami and is
probably a misplaced value. They also report much damage to the north coast of
Kauai.
A magnitude 8.2 earthquake off the Kamchatka Peninsula produced a tsunami that
was observed in Alaska. At Massacre Bay, Attu the wave had an amplitude of 2.7
m and a period of about 17 minutes. This record was observed on the tide staff as
the gage was not operating initially and the record was clipped. Low-lying areas
were flooded. At Sweeper Cove, Adak the tsunami had an amplitude of about 1.1
m and slightly overflowed the banks of the harbor. At Dutch Harbor, Unalaska the
schools were closed, and the people evacuated to higher ground, but the wave was
only 0.6 m high. It was widely recorded elsewhere throughout Alaska with
amplitudes of 0.3 m or less.

Flooded street resulting from the arrival of

the Kamchatka tsunami on Midway Island
about 3,000 km away from the origin.
Photograph Credit: U.S. Navy. Source: National
Geophysical Data Center.

The tsunami had caused severe damage to Kamchatka Peninsula and then
proceeded throughout the pacific. Midway Island was innundated with 1 m of
water, flooding streets and buildings. On the Hawaiian Islands the waves
destroyed boats, knocked down telephone lines, destroyed piers, scoured beaches,
and flooded lawns. In Honolulu Harbor a cement barge was thrown into a
freighter. In Hilo Bay a small bridge connecting Cocoanut Island to the shore was
destroyed by a wave when it lifted off its foundation and then smashed down.

Aerial view of Kaika Bay near Haleiwa on the north

shore of Oahu shows the fourth wave climbing up
beach toward the beach houses and shows the extent of
inundation from previous waves. Photograph Credit:
George Curtis. Source: National Geophysical Data
Center.

At Cocoanut Island the water swept in with a run-up of 12 feet. It was observed in
Hilo that the run-up could have been as high as 11 1/2 feet. Also in Hilo, at Reed's
Bay, the water level rose as high as 11 feet. Hilo Bay recorded the highest levels of
run-up. At most of the other coastal cities in Hawaii, the water rise was barely
noticeable. During this event, the interesting observation was made that the
highest or most destructive wave would vary from location to location. Without
knowing which wave will be the largest at a particular location the local
authorities must properly warn residents that could be affected and keep them
away from the shore until it is safe to return.
OFF THE COAST OF ECUADOR 1906 JANUARY 31 15:35 UTC 8.8M

N.B: The magnitude for this earthquake

has been recalculated since the following
articles were written. Magnitude 8.8 is a
better determination of the size of this
earthquake.

A catastrophic magnitude 8.2

earthquake off the coast of Ecuador
and Colombia generated a strong
tsunami that killed 500 to 1500
there. It was observed all along the
coast of Central America and as far
north as San Francisco and west to
Japan.....The wave arrived in Hilo
at about 12.5 hours after the
earthquake. It covered the floor of
the old wharf at the end of
Waianuenue Street and the railroad tracks between there and Waiakea. The range
of oscillations in water level was 3.6 m and the period 30 minutes. The channels of
the Wailuku and Wailoa Rivers alternately dried up, then disappeared under the
tidal wave.

Kahului: Three waves arrived at 20-minute intervals. The second wave was larger
than the first, and the third was larger than the second. The water rose about 0.30
m above the mean sea level mark. According to other sources, the water surface
rose to the level of the old steamship pier and the road running along the coast.

The tide gauge at Honolulu began to register oscillations about 12 hours after the
earthquake. The tsunami apparently began with a flood; then the oscillations
intensified, and the fourth wave, which was the highest, had a height of 0.25 m.
The period of oscillations was 20-30 minutes. Three separate trains of oscillations
were registered.

According to the accounts of witnesses, disturbances in water level on Honolulu

Bay began to be observed at 3:30 UTC February 1. At 4:15 UTC there as an
extremely great ebb. All the steam and sailboats in the bay were turned around.
Then a sudden flood tide reached a considerable height."
Magnitude 8.7 - NORTHERN SUMATRA, NDONESIA
2005 March 28 16:09:36 UTC

Magnitude 8.7
Date-Time Monday, March 28, 2005 at 16:09:36 (UTC)
= Coordinated Universal Time
Monday, March 28, 2005 at 11:09:36 PM
= local time at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 2.074°N, 97.013°E
Depth 30 km (18.6 miles) set by location program
Region NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
Distances
205 km (125 miles) WNW of Sibolga, Sumatra,
Indonesia
245 km (155 miles) SW of Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia
535 km (330 miles) WSW of KUALA LUMPUR,
Malaysia
1410 km (880 miles) NW of JAKARTA, Java,
Indonesia
Location horizontal +/- 4 km (2.5 miles); depth fixed by location
Uncertainty program
Parameters Nst=289, Nph=289, Dmin=537 km, Rmss=0.76 sec, Gp=
25°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw),
Version=R
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usweax
Felt Reports At least 1000 people killed, 300 injured and 300
buildings destroyed on Nias; 100 people killed, many
injured and several buildings damaged on Simeulue;
200 people killed in Kepulauan Banyak; 3 people killed,
40 injured and some damage in the Meulaboh area,
Sumatra. A 3-meter tsunami damaged the port and
airport on Simeulue. Tsunami runup heights as high as 2
meters were observed on the west coast of Nias and 1
meter at Singkil and Meulaboh, Sumatra. Felt (VI) at
Banda Aceh and (V) at Medan. At least 10 people were
killed during evacuation of the coast of Sri Lanka. Felt
(IV) along the west coast of Malaysia; (IV) at Bangkok
and (III) at Phuket, Thailand; (III) at Singapore; (III) at
Male, Maldives. The quake was also felt in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands, India and in Sri Lanka. Tsunami
wave heights (peak to trough) recorded from selected
tide stations: about 40 cm on Panjang, Indonesia; about
25 cm at Colombo, Sri Lanka; 40 cm on Hanimadu, 18
cm at Male and 10 cm at Gan, Maldives. Initial
observations indicate about 1 meter of subsidence on
the coast of Kepulauan Banyak as well as 1 meter of
uplift on the coast of Simeulue. Seiches were observed
on ponds in West Bengal, India.
The earthquake of 28 March 2005 occurred principally on the interface of the
Australia plate and Sunda plate and was caused by the release of stresses that
develop as the Australia plate subducts beneath the overriding Sunda plate. The
Australia plate begins its descent into the mantle at the Sunda trench, which lies to
the southwest of the earthquake's epicenter. At this latitude, the trench is the
surface expression of the plate interface between the Australia plate and the Sunda
plate.

In the region of the earthquake, the Australia plate moves toward the northeast at
a rate of about 5 cm/year relative to the Sunda plate. This results in oblique
convergence at the Sunda trench. The oblique motion is partitioned into thrust-
faulting, which occurs on the plate-interface and which involves slip directed
perpendicular to the trench, and strike-slip faulting, which occurs several hundred
kilometers northeast of the trench and involves slip directed parallel to the trench.
The 28 March earthquake occurred as the result of thrust faulting.

This earthquake was likely triggered by stress changes caused by the 26 December
2004 (M9.0) earthquake. However, it occurred on a segment of the fault 100 miles
(160 kilometers) to the southeast of the rupture zone of the M9.0 Sumatra
earthquake.
The most recent magnitude 8+ earthquake in the immediate region of this
earthquake occurred in 1861. The 1861 earthquake generated a regionally
destructive tsunami. Another earthquake of similar magnitude occurred farther
south in 1833.

Rat Islands, Alaska

1965 02 04, 05:01 and 08:40 UTC (local Feb 3)
Magnitude 8.7

On Adak Island, cracks occurred in

prefabricated wood buildings; on
Shemya Island, cracks were
observed in an asphalt runway.
Hairline cracks also formed in the
runways at the U.S. Coast Guard
Loran Station on Attu Island. This
earthquake generated a tsunami
reported to be about 10.7 meters
high on Shemya Island. Loss
caused by flooding on Amchitka
Island was estimated at about
$10,000. An aftershock at 07:40
UTC was assigned MMI VI.
Andreanof Islands, Alaska 1957 03 09 14:22:31 UTC Magnitude 8.6

This great earthquake destroyed

two bridges on Adak Island,
damaged houses, and left a 4.5
meter crack in a road. On
Umnak Island, part of a dock
was destroyed, and Mount
Vsevidof erupted after being
dormant for 200 years. Further,
this shock generated a 15 meter
tsunami that smashed into the
coastline at Scotch Cap and an 8
meter tsumani that washed
away many buildings and
damaged oil lines extensively at
Sand Bay. This tsunami
continued to Hawaii, where is
destroyed two villages and
inflicted about $5 million in
property damage on Oahu and
Kauai Islands. The tsunami also
caused minor damage in San
Diego Bay, California, before
traveling to such distant
countries as Chile, El Salvador,
Japan, and other areas in the
Pacific region. More than 300 aftershocks were reported along the southern edge of
the Aleutians, from Unimak Island to Amchitka Pass.

On March 9, 1957, at 14:22 GMT, an earthquake occurred south of the Andreanof

Islands, in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. A Pacific-wide tsunami was triggered by
the earthquake, which had a surface-wave magnitude of 8.3, an epicenter of 51.5°
N, 175.7° W, and a focal depth of 33 km. Even though no lives were lost, the
Hawaiian Islands suffered the greatest with damage costs approximately $5
million (1957 dollars).

First photo in a series of three

sequential photos show the arrival of a
major wave at Laie Point on the Island of
Oahu, Hawaii about 3,600 km from the
source. Photograph Credit: Henry
Helbush. Source: National Geophysical
Data Center.
The Island of Kauai, Hawaii, was hit twice as hard by this tsunami than by the
Aleutian Islands tsunami in 1946. Houses were washed out and destroyed at
Wainiha and Kalihiwai. At Haena, the waves reached heights of 16 m. In addition
to that bridges were destroyed and sections of highways were flooded. At Hilo,
Hawaii, the run-up was reached 3.9 m and damaged buildings. In Hilo Bay,
Cocoanut Island was covered by 1 m of water and the bridge connecting it to shore
was destroyed.

Second photo in a series of three

sequential photos show the arrival of a
major wave at Laie Point on the Island of
Oahu, Hawaii. Photograph Credit: Henry
Helbush. Source: National Geophysical
Data Center.

Although the northwest side of the Hawaiian Islands received high levels of water,
the rest of the islands only received elevated water levels on average of 2 to 3 m.
Both the 1946 and 1957 tsunamis occurred in the same general location (the
Aleutian Islands). Even though the 1957 earthquake released more energy than the
earthquake of 1946. The tsunami generated by this 1957 event caused less damage
than the tsunami of 1946. This uncertainty of the potential destructive power of a
tsunami forces Pacific Tsunami Warning System to issue warnings even when a
tsunami may have little or no effect.

Third photo in a series of three

sequential photos show the arrival of a
major wave at Laie Point on the Island of
Oahu, Hawaii. Photograph Credit: Henry
Helbush. Source: National Geophysical
Data Center.
Assam - Tibet 1950 August 15 14:09 UTC 8.6M

N.B: The magnitude for this earthquake

has been recalculated since the following
articles were written. Magnitude 8.6 is a
better determination of the size of this
earthquake.

Intensity scale X at Sadya,

Passighat, Dum Duma, Dibrugarh,
North Lakhimpur, and Sibsagar;
IX at Digboi and Galaghat; VIII at
Tezpur, Ganhati, and Shillong; VI
at Daca, Calcutta Dhubri,
Darjeeling, and Imphal.
Macroseismic area 1,794,000 sq
km, of which 49,700 sq km
suffered great damage.

This great earthquake, destructive

in Assam and Tibet, has a
calculated magnitude of 8.6 and
Strasbourg regards it as the most
important since the introduction of seismological observing stations. Alterations of
relief were brought about by many rock falls in the Mishmi Hills and destruction
of forest areas. In the Arbor Hills 70 villages were destroyed with 156 casualties
due to landslides. Dykes blocked the tributaries of the Brahmaputra; that in the
Dibang valley broke without causing damage, but that at Subansiri opened after
an intermal of 8 days and the wave, 7 metres high, submerged several villages and
killed 532 persons.

Two thousand homes, temples and mosques destroyed. Hardest hit is the
Brahmaputra Basin in NE India

Strictly this was not an Indian earthquake; the epicenter was near Rima, in a region
claimed by both China and Tibet. It is one of the few earthquakes to which the
instrumentally determined magnitude, 8.7, is assigned. This shock was more
damaging in Assam, in terms of property loss, than the earthquake of 1897. To the
effects of shaking were added those of flood; the rivers rose high after the
earthquake, bringing down sand, mud, trees, and all kinds of debris. Pilots flyng
over the meizoseismal area reported great changes in topography; this was largely
due to enormous slides, some of which were photographed. The only available on-
the-spot account is that of F. Kingdon-Ward, a botanical explorer who was at
Rima. However, he had little opportunity for obeservations; he confirms violent
shaking at Rima, extensive slides, and the rise of the streams, but his attention was
perforce directed to the difficulties of getting out and back to India. Aftershocks
were numerous; many of them were of mangitude 6 and over and well enough
recorded at distant stations for reasonably good epicenter location. From such data
Dr. Tandon, of the Indian seismological service, established an enormous
geographical spread of this activity, from about 90 deg to 97 deg east longitude,
with the epicenter of the great earthquake near the eastern margin. One of the
more westerly aftershocks, a few days later, was felt more extensively in Assam
than the main shock; this led certain journalists to the absurd conclusion that the
later shock was 'bigger' and must be the greatest earthquake of all time! This is a
typical example of the confusion between the essential concepts of magnitude and
intensity. The extraordinary sounds heard by Kingdon-Ward and many others at
the times of the main earthquake have been specially investigated. Seiches were
observed as far away as Norway and England. (p. 63-64.)

Kingdon-Ward, near the epicenter of the great Tibet earthquake of 1950, heard
heavy explosive sounds following the shock, coming apparently from high in the
air. These sounds were heard at many points in India and Burma, to distances of
over 750 miles. (p. 128.)

1950 Aug 15 14:09, 26.6 N 96.5E, maximum intensity XI, 1526 deaths, extreme
damage [extreme = $25 million or more U.S. at the time of the earthquake]. India:
Assam. India-China.

The term seismic seiche was coined by Anders Kvale in 1955 to describe
oscillations of lake levels in Norway and England caused by the earthquake of
August 1950 in Assam, India. (p. 153.)

THE 1923 TOKYO EARTHQUAKE

On September 1, 1923, just before noon, an earthquake of magnitude 8.3 occurred
near the densely populated, modern industrial cities of Tokyo and Yokohama,
Japan. The epicenter was placed in Sagami Bay, just southwest of Tokyo Bay.
Destruction ranged from far up into the Hakone mountains, home to popular
tourist resorts, to the busy shipping lanes of Yokohama Bay, north to the city of
Tokyo.

Though not the largest earthquake to ever hit Japan, the proximity to Tokyo and
Yokohama and the surrounding areas, with combined populations numbering 2
million, made it one of the most devastating quakes ever to hit Japan. Tokyo's
principle business and industrial districts lay in ruins.

At a time when thousands of homes and restaurants had lit fires, mostly gas
ranges, for noon-day meal preparation, the quake hit, demolishing buildings and
toppling contents of the traditional wood and paper Japanese houses. Flamable
materials in the industrial plants and explosions at a munitions factory helped fuel
the flames at such a pace that the normally well-prepared firefighters could not
keep up. Broken water mains made water unavailable to fight the fires.
Deaths were estimated at nearly 100,000, with an additional 40,000 missing.
Hundreds of thousands were left homeless in the resulting fires. Fires in the Honjo
and Fukagawa districts of Tokyo surrounded over 30,000 people who took refuge
in a large open area. The meager possessions they had fled with became additional
fuel for the firestorm and they were literally incinerated on this spot.

The quake is remembered by Japanese authors as the Great Kanto Earthquake,

Kanto being the name of the region which includes Tokyo. The year of the quake,
1923, is referred to as Year 12 of the Taisho Era, the 12th year of Emperor Taisho's
reign which lasted from 1912 - 1926.

Before 1923, the gravest Japanese earthquake was the February10, 1792 Hizen
earthquake, which coincided with the eruption of Unzendake. An estimated 15,000
people were killed. The Shinano - Echigo earthquake of May 8, 1844, caused the
death ofabout 12,000 people. In the Tokyo and Yokohama earthquake and fire of
1923, nearly 142,000 people perished. Saturday, September 1st 1923 was hot with
strong gusts of wind that followed an early morning rain. At 11:58:44 the main
shocks of the earthquake arrived just as the citizens of Tokyo and Yokohama,
seventeen miles south of Tokyo, were preparing to take their noon meal. Professor
A. Imamura, the head of the seismological observatory at the University of Tokyo,
was at his desk at the time.

When the quake began, Professor Imamura was seated in his study and noted that
the first movement was rather slight and feeble, so that he did not take it to be the
forerunner of so big a shock. He began to estimate the duration of the preliminary
tremors and endeavored to ascertain the direction of the principal movements.
Soon the vibration became large, and after three or four seconds from the time of
commencement, he felt the shock very strongly indeed. Seven or eight seconds
passed and the building was shaking to an extraordinary extent, but he considered
these movements not yet to be the principal portion. When he counted the twelfth
second from the start, there arrived a very strong vibration which he took at once
to be the beginning of the principal portion. Now, the motion instead of becoming
less and less, as usual, went on to increase its intensity very quickly, and after four
or five seconds he felt it to have reached the strongest [3].

A lay person’s description of the same events are provided by Otis Manchester
Poole, General Manager of Dodwell & Co. who was also at his desk in his
Yokohama office that morning.

I had scarcely returned to my desk when, without warning, came the first rumbling jar of
an earthquake, a sickening sway, the vicious grinding of timbers and, in a few seconds, a
crescendo of turmoil as the floor began to heave and the building to lurch drunkenly.... The
ground could scarcely be said to shake; it heaved, tossed and leapt under one. The walls
bulged as if made of cardboard and the din became awful...For perhaps half a minute the
fabric of our surroundings held; then came disintegration. Slabs of plaster left the ceilings
and fell about our ears, filling the air with a blinding, smothering fog of dust. Walls
bulged, spread and sagged, pictures danced on their wires, flew out and crashed to
splinters. ... How long it lasted, I don’t know. It seemed an eternity; but the official record
says four minutes...[9]

Perhaps one official record claimed four. Others said 10 minutes of felt vibration,
and up to two and a half-hours of constant motion. [6] More than 200 aftershocks
followed the 7.9 M main event on Sept. 1st. On Sept. 2nd, an excess of 300 shocks
was recorded, including a major event at 11:47 a.m. More than 300 additional
shocks would follow from September 3-5. In all, seven prefectures were affected by
the quake. These were Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Chiba, Saitama, Yamanashi
and Ibaraki. The greatest destruction occurred at Yokohama, which at the time was
the premier commercial port of Japan. The degree of shaking felt in the affected
regions varied greatly because of soil structures. The epicenter of the largest quake
was close to Oshima Island. This island consisted mostly of lava and scoria and
experienced comparatively little shaking or ground level changes. But both the
cities of Tokyo and Yokohama are located on alluvium or soft river deposits. An
American geologist, T. A. Jagger, observed:

“The geology indicates transition from hard andesites at Izu, through indurated Tertiary
sediments at Misaki and Boshu, to soft quaternary beds and modern river deltas about
Yokohama and Tokyo. The cities were thus on the worst ground, and suffered heavier
shaking than the Izu peninsula, although farther away from the seismic centers.”

An unusual characteristic of the Great Kanto earthquake was the dramatic

upheaval and depression of the ground. The earth was lifted as high as 24 feet at
Misaki, substantially changing the shape of the shoreline. This uplift lasted only
about 72 hours, however, before the ground began to sink, at first by as much as
two feet per day. When the settling had ceased, an offset of some 5 feet remained.
The dramatic uplifting and depression of the ground resulted in thousands of
landslides, the worst of which occurred in Idu province. Here the entire village of
Nebukawa was buried by a massive mudflow, killing hundreds. Landslides were
also observed on the Miura Peninsula, the southern part of Boso Peninsula, and
the mountainous district of southwestern Sagami.

The Central Meteorological Observatory in Tokyo listed the general area of

upheaval as the Boso Peninsula and the Shonan district. The epicenters of the
numerous shocks that followed the main event were scattered between the
southern section of the Boso Peninsula and the coast of Sagami Bay. The
Observatory also noted ground upheavals of approximately nine feet near Mera, at
the southern end of the Boso Peninsula and eight feet in the neighborhood of Oiso.
The Imperial University in Tokyo obtained the only direct measurement of
acceleration from the earthquake assessed at 10% of gravity. Maximum
acceleration in the alluvial ground at Yokohama was later estimated to be 40% of
gravity.

Not long after the earthquake, the Government Fishery Institute and the
Hydrographical Department of the Navy undertook missions to survey the sea
floor in the area of the quake at a depth of 600 to 800 fathoms. Their findings
corroborated the theory that two distinct earthquakes occurred in Sagami Bay. One
was centered east of Hatsushima Island and to the north of Oshima Island. The
other originated to the southeast of Manazuru point. These missions also revealed
new ridges 180 to 300 feet in height on the ocean floor in line with a volcanic chain
that extends for hundreds of miles in a south-southeasterly direction. It appears
that a collapse into a rift occurred along the line of this volcanic chain.

A tsunami followed the earthquake, but in this, at least, the citizens were
somewhat fortunate. There was no large wave inside Tokyo Bay. A substantial
wave — up to 39.5 feet — did strike along the north shore of Oshima Island, but
comparatively little damage was done. Waves three to 20 feet in height were
recorded along Izu peninsula and the Bosshu coastline.

Fire
No less ferocious than the earthquake itself was the conflagration that followed the
earth shaking. When the earthquake struck, coal or charcoal cooking stoves were
in use throughout Tokyo and Yokohama in preparation for the noontime meal and
fires sprang up everywhere within moments of the quake. Improper storage of
chemicals and fuel further contributed to the holocaust. In Yokohama alone, 88
separate fires began to burn simultaneously and the city was quickly engulfed in
flames that raged for two days. Although the recorded wind speed was lower in
Yokohama than in Tokyo, fire-induced wind spawned numerous cyclones, which
further spread the flames. In Tokyo, the wind reached speeds of 17.9 miles per
hour and became the chief obstacle to containing the fire. Temperatures soared to
86 °F late into the night. The casualties from the fires are a horrifying combination
of people who were trapped in collapsed buildings and those who took refuge in
areas that were later surrounded and consumed by fire. The greatest loss of life
occurred at the Military Clothing Depot in Honjo Ward, where many of the
refugees had gathered. Most of them carried clothing, bedrolls, and furniture
rescued from their homes. These materials served as a ready fuel source, and the
engulfing flames suffocated an estimated 40,000 people.

O. M. Poole, who had fled his Yokohama office after the main shock to a yacht
anchored in the harbor at Yokohama, described the continuing destruction as
night fell.

In the enveloping summer night, the relentless roar of flames sounded like heavy surf, with
frequent crashes of thunder. We seemed to be in the centre of a huge stage, illuminated by
pulsing, crimson footlights. ...we could see a thin rim of fire all around Tokyo Bay,
meaning that fishing villages and small towns were all sharing the same fate; the glare
above Yokosuka, where the jaws of the bay come close together, showed that the Naval
arsenal was also going up. Northwards over the water there rose on the horizon a billowy,
pink cloud like cumuli at sunset, so distant as to seem unchanging and motionless, yet each
time one looked it had taken a different shape. This was Tokyo burning, and by the cloud’s
titanic proportions we knew the whole city must be in flames, as indeed most of it was. [9]

Poole was not alone seeking refuge in the Yokohama harbor. By nightfall the
harbor was full of refugees on board ships both foreign and local. The following
morning, oil that had been seeping into the water caught fire and there followed a
mad scramble to get the ships out to open sea before they were engulfed in flames.
Many people were injured when they were caught at the end of a burning pier.

Days passed as the smoldering embers slowly cooled and the aftershocks
diminished and finally stopped. In the desolate ruins left behind, it was difficult to
distinguish earthquake damage from that which had burned. It is estimated that at
least 80% of the total destruction in Yokohama was due to fire. [3]

The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake 5:12 AM

- April 18, 1906

San Francisco City Hall after the 1906 Earthquake.

The California earthquake of April 18, 1906 ranks as one of the most significant
earthquakes of all time. Today, its importance comes more from the wealth of
scientific knowledge derived from it than from its sheer size. Rupturing the
northernmost 430 kilometers of the San Andreas fault from northwest of San Juan
Bautista to the triple junction at Cape Mendocino, the earthquake confounded
contemporary geologists with its large, horizontal displacements and great
rupture length. Indeed, the significance of the fault and recognition of its large
cumulative offset would not be fully appreciated until the advent of plate
tectonics more than half a century later. Analysis of the 1906 displacements and
strain in the surrounding crust led Reid (1910) to formulate his elastic-rebound
theory of the earthquake source, which remains today the principal model of the
earthquake cycle.

At almost precisely 5:12 a.m., local time, a foreshock occurred with sufficient
force to be felt widely throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The great
earthquake broke loose some 20 to 25 seconds later, with an epicenter near San
Francisco. Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking which lasted some 45 to
60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los
Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada. The highest Modified Mercalli
Intensities (MMI's) of VII to IX paralleled the length of the rupture, extending as
far as 80 kilometers inland from the fault trace. One important characteristic of the
shaking intensity noted in Lawson's (1908) report was the clear correlation of
intensity with underlying geologic conditions. Areas situated in sediment-filled
valleys sustained stronger shaking than nearby bedrock sites, and the strongest
shaking occurred in areas where ground reclaimed from San Francisco Bay failed
in the earthquake. Modern seismic-zonation practice accounts for the differences
in seismic hazard posed by varying geologic conditions.

As a basic reference about the earthquake and the damage it caused, geologic
observations of the fault rupture and shaking effects, and other consequences of
the earthquake, the Lawson (1908) report remains the authoritative work, as well
as arguably the most important study of a single earthquake. In the public's mind,
this earthquake is perhaps remembered most for the fire it spawned in San
Francisco, giving it the somewhat misleading appellation of the "San Francisco
earthquake". Shaking damage, however, was equally severe in many other places
along the fault rupture. The frequently quoted value of 700 deaths caused by the
earthquake and fire is now believed to underestimate the total loss of life by a
factor of 3 or 4. Most of the fatalities occurred in San Francisco, and 189 were
reported elsewhere.

This photograph by Arnold Genthe shows Sacramento Street and approaching fire.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SOME NOTABLE INDIAN
EARTHQUAKES
(i) The Rann of Cutch Earthquake of June 1819
This devastating earthquake occurred on the 16th of June, 1819 between 6' 45 and
6' 50 P.M. and was responsible for causing nearly 1543 deaths and destruction to
property in the epicentraI area, which extended from Ahmedabad in the east to
Porbonder in the west, Jaisalmer in the north and included the important towns of
Bhuj and Anjar. In Bhuj alone more than 7000 houses were overthrown. It was the
first Indian Earthquake about which R. D. Oldham published a detailed memoir
nearly a century after its occurrence. The shock was felt upto an average distance
of nearly 1280 km (700 miles) from the centre of the epicentra1 tract over an area of
the order of a million square miles.

A most remarkable phenomenon associated with the shock was visible faulting on
the earth's surface which extended to more than 80 km (50 miles) in length. A
mound of earth at a distance of about 8 km (5 miles) to the north of Sindri was
observed in a place where the soil was previously low and level. This mound
called "Allahbund" extended for a length of more than 80 to 100 km (50 to 60 miles)
in an approximately East-West direction. The greatest height of the bund was 6.15
m (20t ft) and it sloped to the north at the rate of 0 .9 m per km (5 ft per mile) and
to the south at the rate of 11.25 m per km (60 ft per mile). The vertical displacement
to north and south of the bund were in opposite direction. The area to the south of
the bund subsided, into which water from the sea rushed and formed a lake about
55 km (34 miles) long and occupying an area of nearly 512 sq km (200 sq miles).

A remarkable observation of the damage to houses in Anjar town showed that half
of the town built on low rocky ridges suffered little damage, while the other half
founded on a slope leading to plain of springs and swamps was completely
ruined. The shock was followed by large number of aftershocks. During the first
three months following the shock not a day passed without one or two shocks,
thereafter the frequency decreasing gradually. The aftershocks probably continued
for nearly eight years.

(ii) The Assam Earthquake of 1897

The Assam Earthquake of 12th June 1897 is not only one of the World's largest
earthquakes but also one about which a most detailed scientific study was
undertaken. For this we are indebted to Dr. R.D. Oldham who published his
famous memoir on this earthquake. The earthquake occurred at about 5. 15 local
time and was responsible for 1542 deaths, and almost total destruction of all brick
and stone buildings in all the principal towns of Assam including ShiIIong, Sylhet,
Goalpara, Gauhati, Dhubri and Tura. The destruction spread over an area of
371200 sq km (145000 sq miles) and the shock was felt over an area of 4.48 million
sq km (1.75 million sq miles).

The intensity of the shock within the epicentral tract was so large that visible
waves were seen at a number of places viz. ShiIIong, Nalban Magaldai. Estimates
of the horizontal ground acceleration at various places made with the help of
West's formula were as follows-

Silchar 1200 mm/sec2

Dhubri 2700 mm/sec2
Cherapunji 3000 mm/sec2
ShiIlong, Sylhet and Goalpara 4200 mm/sec2.

On the slopes of the Khasi hills a number of embedded rounded small blocks of
granite were thrown from their places and projected to other places, showing that
at these places the vertical acceleration exceeded that of gravity. Land slides
occurred on enormous scale in the hills and soft ground Was rent with fissures
throughout the epicentral tract. The magnitude of the shock has been estimated to
be greater than 8.5.

The earthquake caused visible movements along faults besides fracturing long
stretches of rock. In a number of places the stream beds were tilted resulting in
changing their course. Even the bed of the Brahmaputra was affected resulting in
unprecedented floods in the second half of the year 1897. The Chedrang fault
located about 160 km (100 miles) to WNW of Shillong runs in almost NNW-SSE
direction. It had vertical displacements in which the eastern side moved upward~,
the maximum throw being about 10.5 m (35ft) in an extent of about 19' 2 km (12
miles).

The earthquake was followed by a very large number of aftershocks whose

epicentres were apparently scattered over a large area. For the first few days the
earth was hardly at rest. Two of the aftershocks on/June 13 were very strong and
could be felt at Calcutta. The decline of the frequency of aftershocks followed the
usual law and they continued for at least 10 years.

(iii) The Kangra Earthquake of 1905

The main epicentral tract extended from Kangra in a south-easterly direction. A
secondary tract along which the damage was not severe lay near Dehra Dun. The
earthquake whose magnitude exceeded 8 took a toll of 20,000 lives and was felt
over an area of 416000 sq km (162500 sq miles). Intensity close to the epicentre was
close to X. M.M. Although no visible fault scarps were produced anywhere
Middlemiss (1910) concluded from the distribution of surface intensities that the
earthquake was caused due to displacements taking place along a low angle fault
at a depth of 34 to 64 km (21 to 40 miles).

(iv) Bihar-Nepal Earthquake of 1934

Magnitude 8.3 The epicentre of the shock lay below the alluvium slightly to the
north of the towns of Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur. There were three zones of
maximum intensity, the largest being an elongated track aligned approximately
128km (80 miles) long WNW-ESE from Motihari to Madhubani through Sitamarhi;
the second at Monghyr south of the Ganges river and the third around the capital
town of Kathmandu in Nepal. The towns of Monghyr, Motihari, Madhubani, and
Bettiah were almost in complete ruins. A belt of slumping extending from Bettiah
in the North West to Purnea in South East, a distance of nearly 320 km (200 miles)
surrounding the epicentral tract, in which nearly all the buildings were tilted or
sank in the soft alluvium. Subsidence of the land was very widespread and
throughout the slump belt there were innumerable fissures through which large
quantities of sand and water were thrown on the surface, thus ruining the
standing crop and soil made unfit for cultivation. To the north of the epicentral
tract, there were extensive land slides in the Himalayas. The earthquake took a toll
of more than 10,000 lives and was felt upto distances of the order of 1600km (1000
miles). The total felt area has been estimated to be about 4.86 million sq km (1.9
million sq miles).

(v) Assam Earthquake of 1950

Epicentre (28.5°N, 97.00E) Origin time 140930 GMT (USCG), Mag. 8.5 (Pasadena)
Depth of focus (Normal about 15 kills). Next only to the Assam Earthquake of 1897
this was the largest earthquake to have occurred in recent times in India. The
epicentre lay close to the junction of the borders of India, Burma and Tibet. A very
graphic account of the earthquake close to the epicentre has been given by Capt. F.
Kingdon Ward a botanist who was camping at Rima (Lat. 28.5°N, 97.00E) on the
fateful day (Nature Jan.27, 1951). According to him, ""'and it was felt as though a
powerful ram were hitting against the earth beneath us with the persistence of a
kettle drum. I had exactly the sensation that a thin crust at the bottom of the basin,
on which we lay was breaking up like an ice flow and that We were all going
down together through an immense hole, into the interior of the earth." Near the
Camp site "Long fissures cut across the strong fields running for the most part
parallel with the river bank, past or present. In some places numerous fissures lay
close together elsewhere far apart." The level of River Lohit and all the other
streams had risen and contained great quantities of pinelogs. Land slides on all the
mountains enclosing the basin has been on a very extensive scale and wide belts
had been ripped off their vegetation which fell into the valleys below.

Although the eplcentre of the shock Was located on the uninhabited part just
outside the northeast boundary of India, it caused great destruction to property in
north eastern Assam particularly in the sub-divisions of North Lakhimpur,
Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Sibsagar and Arunachal Pradesh. Road and rail
communications in the affected areas got completely disrupted, due to ground
subsidence and enormous fissures. The bed of the Brahmaputra rose giving rise to
unprecedented floods in the valley. An area of nearly 46000 sq km (18000 sq miles)
in Assam suffered extensive heavy damage. The shock was felt upto Lucknow,
Allahabad, Rangoon and the total felf area therefore must have exceeded 2.9
million sq km (1.13 million sq miles).

From the trend of isoseismals S. N. Roy (1953) inferred that the earthquake was
due to displacement about a deep seated fault striking NE-SW approximately
running across the Assam syntaxial bend for about 100 miles or so and hading at
least in the earlier portion to the north west. From consideration of the total
seismic energy released in tp.e shock S.K. Banerji (1953) concluded that during the
Assam earthquake a block of rock 200 kmsx 100 km.sx 100 kms must have been
subjected to breaking stress. A fault plane s01ution based on the direction of first
motion recorded by observatories throughout the world by Tandon (1955) showed
that the earthquake occurred along a normal fault striking almost E-W and
dipping to the North at an angle of 75°. The motion took place in this plane along a
line striking N to NW, the hanging wall side moving downwards and a little
westwards relative to the footwall side. Numerous aftershocks followed the great
earthquake, their epicenters scattered over a large area. The magnitude of the
largest aftershock was 7.

(vi) Koyna Earthquake of December, 1967

Epicentre 17°22.4'N, 73°44.8'E About 3 kms to the south of Koyna Dam, Origin
time 22 51 19 GMT Magnitude 6.5 Depth of focus-About 8 kms.

The occurrence of this earthquake so close to an important dam and in a region

where earthquakes of this magnitude were rare, caused widespread interest and
enquiry. While a number of geologists and seismologists attributed the occurrence
of the earthquake to the release of strain accumulating in the region for a long
time, a few thought that the earthquake was caused as a result of the filling up of
the Shivaji Sagar lake.

A team of scientists was sent by UNESCO to undertake a field study of this

earthquake. In their report they have not mentioned any direct correlation
between the filling up of the reservoir and the dam. A large number of houses in
Koyna Nagar, a small township close to the dam either collapsed or suffered
heavy damage, and 177 persons lost their lives. Cracks also appeared in the body
of the dam at a few places.

Although the damage was confined to a narrow belt about 8 kms long and aligned
approximately north-south, the shock was widely felt upto places like Surat and
Ujjain in the north, Nagpur and Hyderabad in the east and Bangalore in the south.
This created an impression that the focus was rather deep seated. It is now
surmised that there were two shocks, the one having its focus near the surface and
responsible for local damage while the other a deep seated one which was felt
widely. Along with the filling up of the reservoir the Koyna area began to
experience minor earth tremors. To study these a network of observatories was
established around the Koyna dam and accelerographs were also installed within
the dam. These instruments'provided the most valuable data. The maximum
accelerations recorded during the earthquake were as follows-

Horizontal (transverse direction) 510

-do- (Longitudinal) 660
Vertical 360

A number of authors utilised the seismic data to provide a source mechanism for
the earthquake. Tandon and Chaudhury (1968) utilising the direction of the onset
of first motion at a large number of observatories concluded that the earthquake
was due to slipping along a reverse fault striking N 26°E and dipping at an angle
of 66° in a N 296° direction. The motion was almost strike slip, the western side
moving south relative to the eastern side.

An extraordinary characteristic of the Koyna shock was the large number of

aftershocks following the main shock. Some of the aftershocks, had magnitudes
exceeding 5. The frequency of the aftershocks decreased with time but became
almost constant after the lapse of about a year thereafter decreasing at a very small
rate. The aftershocks at the rate of 2-3 per week are still continuing.

BHUJ EARTHQUAKE OF 2001

The earthquake of Mw 7.7 that struck at 08:46 am on 26th January, 2001 was
located at 23.4°N: 70.3°E about 20 km north of Bhachau, which was completely
destroyed. The major damage from this event was concentrated in the Kachchh
and Saurastra regions of Gujarat State. In addition to damage in the epicentral
area, considerable damage occurred in Ahmedabad, about 250 km east of the
epicenter, and in Bhavnagar and Surat located more than 300 km from the
epicenter. Similar damage occurred during the 1819, M 7.7, Kachchh earthquake
that devastated Bhuj, Anjar, and many villages in the surrounding areas.
Interestingly, Ahmedabad suffered similar damage in 1819, except that no
multistory buildings existed during the 1819 event.
Reconnaissance surveys of the area were conducted in two phases. The first
reconnaissance took place between February 3 and February 10, 2001 as part of the
EERI Earthquake Reconnaissance Team. A second reconnaissance was conducted
to fill in the information for constraining and refining the isoseismals of this event.
This report describes damage patterns, terrain changes, and the isoseismal patterns
constrained, along with possible source mechanism and intensity decay patterns.

DAMAGE PATTERNS
This event took a huge toll on life and property, primarily in the meizoseismal
areas and its vicinity, but also in major cities like Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, and
Surat, which are located at dis-tances of 240 km, 275 km and 350 km respectively
from the epicenter. These cities experienced major damage, particularly to high-
rise framed structures. The damaging effects of this event clearly were distributed
over a widespread area. Ahmedabad experienced significant damage to about 69
highrise reinforced concrete structures in the form of collapses (grade 5 damage on
MSK scale). This high-grade damage to C-type structures indicates a high intensity
level in this area. In addition, major damage occurred to B-type structures, as well
as old A-type adobe structures. Such distributed damage patterns to buildings
make constraining the isoseismals difficult if only the MSK (Medvedev-
Sponheuer-Karnik) intensity scale is utilized.
Consequently, this investigation combined the MSK scale with the vulnerability
classes sug-gested in the European macroseismic scale, EMS 92 (adopted by the
XXIII ESC General As-sembly, 1992), for constraining isoseismals. This helped in
assessing consistent damage patterns in different types of structures. The EMS 92
has not been singularly preferred because this scale does not take terrain change
into consideration.
After examining damage in Ahmedabad and performing an aerial
reconnaissance of the Kachchh district and surrounding areas, traverses were
planned across the region so that pre-liminary isoseismals could be constrained.
The greatest damage from this event occurred in the Kachchh district, which is the
second largest district in the country. A major portion of this district is comprised
of the Great Rann (Desert) to the north and Little Rann to the east both composed
of vast salty mud flats with a few vegetational islands, locally called the Bets. The
“mainland” to the south of the Great and Little Rann is composed of Jurassic,
Cretaceous, and Tertiary rocks. The major concentration of the local population is
in the mainland area. In general, the Kachchh district is sparsely populated, with
about 25 persons living per sq km of the area. Because of the inhospitable climate,
the population is concentrated in only a few cities and in large villages in the
mainland area
Construction practices in the area are mixed. Old towns like Bhuj and Anjar are
fortified, high density housing with very narrow streets and mixed construction
that ranges from old mud masonry construction with sloping mud tiled roofs,
masonry B-type structures with reinforced concrete roofs, and reinforced concrete
multistory buildings. The large villages like Adoi are also the walled type with
high population density and very low ratio of open space to constructed area. This
construction practice is the major reason for heavy loss of life and property. In
some villages, such as Manfara, new multistory buildings have been built, many of
which collapsed and caused heavy fatalities. Many of the reinforced concrete
constructions suffered extensive damage.
The building inventory in remote villages, particularly in the northern islands
and the Bets, still consists of many conventional Bhonga or Jhumpa dwellings
made of stone, mud, and dung — rounded structures with conical roofs. These
structures also suffered heavy damage, but those made of thatch with mud plaster
were not seriously damaged in the MSK VIII area (see Figure 2-10 in Chapter 2,
Geologic and Tectonic Setting).
Most of the fort walls in villages and towns are made of thick lime mortar,
undressed stones, with well-dressed face stones. These were severely damaged,
with collapses at a number of places in the MSK VII area. Such failures could be
related to high Eigen frequencies in these thick walled structures. Archeological
sites also suffered serious damage: minarets in Ahmedabad, the magnificent Royal
Chhatries (cenotaphs) at Bhuj, the tenth century Jain temple at Bhadreshwar
located between Anjar and Mundra, and royal palace buildings.
Life of a Tsunami
Panel 1—Initiation: Earthquakes
are commonly associated with
ground shaking that is a result of
elastic waves traveling through the
solid earth. However, near the
source of submarine earthquakes,
the seafloor is "permanently"
uplifted and down-dropped,
pushing the entire water column up
and down.
The potential energy that results from pushing water above mean sea level is then
transferred to horizontal propagation of the tsunami wave (kinetic energy). For the
case shown above, the earthquake rupture occurred at the base of the continental
slope in relatively deep water. Situations can also arise where the earthquake
rupture occurs beneath the continental shelf in much shallower water.

Note: In the figure, the waves are greatly exaggerated compared to water depth! In the open
ocean, the waves are at most several meters high spread over many tens to hundreds of
kilometers in length.

Panel 2—Split: Within several

minutes of the earthquake, the
initial tsunami (Panel 1) is split into
a tsunami that travels out to the
deep ocean (distant tsunami) and
another tsunami that travels
towards the nearby coast (local
tsunami).
The height above mean sea level of the two oppositely traveling tsunamis is
approximately half that of the original tsunami (Panel 1). (This is somewhat
modified in three dimensions, but the same idea holds.) The speed at which both
tsunamis travel varies as the square root of the water depth. Therefore the deep-
ocean tsunami travels faster than the local tsunami near shore.

Panel 3—Amplification: Several

things happen as the local tsunami
travels over the continental slope.
Most obvious is that the amplitude
increases. In addition, the
wavelength decreases. This results
in steepening of the leading wave--
an important control of wave runup
at the coast (next panel).
Note also that the deep ocean tsunami has traveled much farther than the local
tsunami because of the higher propagation speed. As the deep ocean tsunami
approaches a distant shore, amplification and shortening of the wave will occur, just
as with the local tsunami shown above.

Panel 4—Runup: As the tsunami

wave travels from the deep-water,
continental slope region to the near-
shore region, tsunami runup occurs.
Runup is a measurement of the
height of the water onshore
observed above a reference sea
level.
Contrary to many artistic images of tsunamis, most tsunamis do not result in giant
breaking waves (like normal surf waves at the beach that curl over as they approach
shore). Rather, they come in much like very strong and very fast tides (i.e., a rapid,
local rise in sea level). Much of the damage inflicted by tsunamis is caused by strong
currents and floating debris. The small number of tsunamis that do break often form
vertical walls of turbulent water called bores. Tsunamis will often travel much
farther inland than normal waves.

Do tsunamis stop once on land? After runup, part of the tsunami energy is reflected
back to the open ocean. In addition, a tsunami can generate a particular type of wave
called edge waves that travel back-and forth, parallel to shore. These effects result in
many arrivals of the tsunami at a particular point on the coast rather than a single
wave suggested by Panel 3. Because of the complicated behavior of tsunami waves
near the coast, the first runup of a tsunami is often not the largest, emphasizing the
importance of not returning to a beach several hours after a tsunami hits.

Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically
displaces the overlying water. Tectonic earthquakes are a particular kind of
earthquake that are associated with the earth's crustal deformation; when these
earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced
from its equilibrium position. Waves are formed as the displaced water mass,
which acts under the influence of gravity, attempts to regain its equilibrium. When
large areas of the sea floor elevate or subside, a tsunami can be created.

Large vertical movements of the earth's crust can occur at plate boundaries. Plates
interact along these boundaries called faults. Around the margins of the Pacific
Ocean, for example, denser oceanic plates slip under continental plates in a
process known as subduction. Subduction earthquakes are particularly effective in
generating tsunamis.