6.

8 earthquake hits Sikkim, many buildings damagedCNN-IBN

New Delhi: An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the richter scale hit North India on Sunday and the epicentre was 64 km from Gangtok in Sikkim at 6:10 pm, causing damages in the area. Mild tremors were felt in Delhi and other parts of North India. Tremors were felt in Patna, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal also. Reports said that tremors were felt for almost 30 seconds. People in most parts of North and East India rushed out of their homes in panic. Aftershocks measuring 6.1 and 5.3 on the richter scale were also felt around Sikkim 20 minutes after the earthquake. Speaking to CNN-IBN, the DGP of Sikkim said that many buildings were damaged. He also said that roads were blocked and people were stranded on roads. He said that the Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling has called for an emergency meeting. Arvind Kumar, Principal Resident Commissioner of Sikkim said that there was excessive damage in the northern parts of Sikkim. He also said that the rescue operations had started in the area. The Chief Secretary of Sikkim Karma Gyatso said that there were reports suggesting that one child succumbed to injuries after the earthquake. There were intermittent power outages. There were also reports of landslides following the earthquake in areas around Sikkim and also Darjeeling. The Prime Minister also spoke to the Sikkim Chief Minister and offered all help. The Prime Minister also directed the Cabinet Secretary to call for an emergency meeting. There were reports of damages from Bihar. Two buildings collapsed in Katihar in Bihar. The NTPC power plant in Kahalgaon in Bihar has also been shut down because of the earthquake following which North Bihar was under power crisis. One person reportedly died in Bihar in a stampede following the Earthquake.

Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi who was staying in a hotel in Bhutan said that there were minor cracks in the hotel. RS Dattatreya, Director, Seismology in the Met Department said that there were possibility of aftershocks only in the area around the epicentre. This is the second earthquake felt in Delhi in the last 10 days.

Sikkim quake: Landslides and rain hamper rescue efforts See photo

GANGTOK/NEW DELHI: The death toll in the powerful Sunday earthquake has increased to 40 with 19 people being killed in Sikkim, five in West Bengal, two in Bihar, seven each in Nepal and Tibet even as rescue and relief operations were stepped up in the affected areas. Over a hundred people have been injured in the 6.8 magnitude tremblor which has caused extensive damage to buildings and roads in Sikkim and several other places. The casualties have occurred mostly in the North District and in towns and villages like Rangpo, Dikchu, Singtam and Chungthang located along the course of Teesta river, they said. In Gangtok, power was restored this morning. Residents had spent the night outside their houses fearing aftershocks. At least 20 aftershocks throughout the night had created panic in the city. The road network and telecommunication system have been affected. There are fears that several tourists may still be trapped in Gangtok and the surrounding areas. Gangtok is barely 54 km from the epicentre and several tourists may be spread across the many tourist spots around the capital city. Meanwhile, rain and landslides have hampered the massive rescue efforts of hundreds of workers searching for survivors. According to reports from Union home ministry, there are 16 landslides in a stretch of 10 km in Sikkim. Reports say several important roads in the state have been washed away and the main highway has been blocked. Nearly 400 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached the Bagdogra airport on Monday morning. The NDRF personnel will be airlifted to the epicentre of the earthquake for the rescue operation. Five more rescue teams have also left Kolkata for Gangtok. The earthquake has also triggered off landslides, blocking off nearly all roads towards Sikkim's capital Gangtok. Personnel of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are working on a war footing to clear the blocked roads. 712 personnel of ITBP are already engaged in rescue and relief operations in Sikkim. The Army has deployed a total of 72 columns including infantry troops and combat

engineers, four Dhruv and five Cheetah helicopters. IAF has deployed 2 C-130J 'Super Hercules' aircraft from Hindan airbase to Bagdogra, carrying 9 tonne of relief material and 200 National Disaster Relief Force personnel. One IL76 plane hsa been sent from Agra to Bagdogra via Kolkata, carrying 8 tonne of relief material and 110 passengers. Also, an AVRO from Palam, with a 20 member Medical Team, 2 AN-32 medium lift aircraft from Agra, and 8 helicopters have been pressed into service for relief and rescue operations. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has left Kolkata for Darjeeling to hold a meeting with the administration at Kurseong at 3pm. Banerjee will be assessing the situation after the meeting in Kurseong with the top brass of the administration. She is likely to visit some worst hit areas in Darjeeling district and give necessary instructions for the rebuilding work. Mamata Banerjee has announced compensation worth Rs 2 lakh to the family of the deceased. The West Bengal chief minister has postponed her election campaign in Bhawanipore to September 22, where she was supposed to hold a rally on Tuesday. Banerjee is looking to get elected from Bhawanipore assembly constituency in the assembly byelection. Meanwhile, the quake was felt all the way to Delhi as well as in Bangladesh, shaking buildings. At least 10 people were injured and some buildings suffered minor damage. Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported that at least seven persons have been killed and 22 others injured in Tibet in the quake which has caused landslides and has disrupted traffic, power and water supplies as well as telecommunication in Yadong County, an area 40 km away from Sikkim. Three people were killed at Lainchaur in Kathmandu, two in Sunsari district, and one each in Dhankuta and Sankhuwasabha districts in eastern Nepal, according to home ministry sources in the Nepalese capital.

4.2 magnitude earthquake in the New Delhi, India Update 09/09/2011

\Earthquake overview : After a long 30 minutes of receiving I Have Felt It reports from concerned New Delhi people we could finally report that a magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck close to New Delhi.

Keep this page open

or return regularly as we will be back with more details when they become available

Update 09/09 07:39 UTC : One woman was injured after falling and fracturing her hand in Delhi. Minor damage like broken plaster and cracks in walls, occurred in some parts of area. In 2007, a magnitude 4.7 earthquake occurred in the Delhi region causing minor damage.

The strongest recent historical earthquakes in the Delhi region include the M 6.0 KhurjaBulandshahr earthquake on 10 October 1956, the M 6.0 Gurgaon earthquake on 27 August 1960 and the M 5.6 Moradabad earthquake on 15 August 1966. Historically, the 15 July 1720 earthquake in the Delhi region caused the greatest damage in the city causing many deaths and widespread damage including knocking down large parts of the city wall in Old Delhi from Kabuli Gate to Lal Darwaza. Update 08/09 08:03 UTC : More I Have Felt It reports

Update 08/09 07:31 UTC : The map at right is showing the earthquake risk areas in Northern India. The Haryana area, New Delhi and the Sonipat epicenter are located in a low to medium risk area. The colors and scale at the right side are showing the "Peak Ground Acceleration (m/s) with a 10% probability of exceeedance in 50 years. The areas to the north have far more risks on damaging and even catastrophic earthquakes as we have seen many times in the past. Update 08/09 07:16 UTC : The Fire Department in Delhi said that they have not received any call for help. There are NO reports of even minor damage. At Earthquake-Report.com, we can confirm that earthquakes with magnitude 4 to 4.5 are very rarely generating damage. At the most cracks in walls and loose items falling on the ground. Update 08/09 07:10 UTC :The tremors were felt across North India, including Kashmir and Uttarakhand. Update 21:49 UTC : There are still NO reports of damage or injuries so far. Although we are not really expecting major damage from the shaking (the shaking lasted only about 10 seconds), we would not be surprised to see houses and buildings with cracks, shattered

tiles, etc when daylight arrives in this very populated area with a lot of badly constructed brick houses.. So far however, no signs of any minor damage. Update 21:48 UTC : Delhi is among thirty important cities in India that fall into high risk seismic zone while Srinagar is among places at very high risk of earthquakes, the government said. Update 20:42 UTC : We have a crazy situation in India where a lot of press is still mentioning a cruel 6.6 magnitude value. 6.6 was a value which circulated shortly after the earthquake occurred. Even the Times of India (and we) were taking over this value (although we did not believe it as seismological agencies did not confirm it quickly enough)

EARTHQUAKE
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time. Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire globe. The more numerous earthquakes smaller than magnitude 5 reported by national seismological observatories are measured mostly on the local magnitude scale, also referred to as the Richter scale. These two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes are mostly almost imperceptible and magnitude 7 and over potentially cause serious damage over large areas, depending on their depth. The largest earthquakes in historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9, although there is no limit to the possible magnitude. The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or larger was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan in 2011 (as of March 2011), and it was the largest Japanese earthquake since records began. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an earthquake, the more damage to structures it causes, all else being equal.[1] At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides, and occasionally volcanic activity.

In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event whether natural or caused by humans that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

Effects of earthquakes

1755 copper engraving depicting Lisbon in ruins and in flames after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which killed an estimated 60,000 people. A tsunami overwhelms the ships in the harbor.

The effects of earthquakes include, but are not limited to, the following:
Shaking and ground rupture

Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by earthquakes, principally resulting in more or less severe damage to buildings and other rigid structures. The severity of the local effects depends on the complex combination of the earthquake magnitude, the distance from the epicenter, and the local geological and geomorphological conditions, which may amplify or reduce wave propagation.[44] The ground-shaking is measured by ground acceleration. Specific local geological, geomorphological, and geostructural features can induce high levels of shaking on the ground surface even from low-intensity earthquakes. This effect is called site or local amplification. It is principally due to the transfer of the seismic motion from hard deep soils to soft superficial soils and to effects of seismic energy focalization owing to typical geometrical setting of the deposits. Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the Earth's surface along the trace of the fault, which may be of the order of several metres in the case of major earthquakes. Ground rupture is a major risk for large engineering structures such as dams, bridges and nuclear power stations and requires careful mapping of existing faults to identify any likely to break the ground surface within the life of the structure.[45]
Landslides and avalanches Main article: Landslide

Earthquakes, along with severe storms, volcanic activity, coastal wave attack, and wildfires, can produce slope instability leading to landslides, a major geological hazard. Landslide danger may persist while emergency personnel are attempting rescue.[46]
Fires

Fires of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas lines. In the event of water mains rupturing and a loss of pressure, it may also become difficult to stop the spread of a fire once it has started. For example, more deaths in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake were caused by fire than by the earthquake itself.[47]
Soil liquefaction Main article: Soil liquefaction

Soil liquefaction occurs when, because of the shaking, water-saturated granular material (such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and transforms from a solid to a liquid. Soil liquefaction may cause rigid structures, like buildings and bridges, to tilt or sink into the liquefied deposits. This can be a devastating effect of earthquakes. For example, in the 1964 Alaska earthquake, soil liquefaction caused many buildings to sink into the ground, eventually collapsing upon themselves.[48]
Tsunami Main article: Tsunami

The tsunami of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves produced by the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water. In the open ocean the distance between wave crests can surpass 100 kilometers (62 miles), and the wave periods can vary from five minutes to one hour. Such tsunamis travel 600-800 kilometers per hour (373497 miles per hour), depending on water depth. Large waves produced by an earthquake or a submarine landslide can overrun nearby coastal areas in a matter of minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of kilometers across open ocean and wreak destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake that generated them.[49] Ordinarily, subduction earthquakes under magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale do not cause tsunamis, although some instances of this have been recorded. Most destructive tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or more.[49]
Floods Main article: Flood

A flood is an overflow of any amount of water that reaches land.[50] Floods occur usually when the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake, exceeds the total capacity of the formation, and as a result some of the water flows or sits outside of the normal perimeter of the body. However, floods may be secondary effects of earthquakes, if dams are damaged. Earthquakes may cause landslips to dam rivers, which collapse and cause floods.[51] The terrain below the Sarez Lake in Tajikistan is in danger of catastrophic flood if the landslide dam formed by the earthquake, known as the Usoi Dam, were to fail during a future earthquake. Impact projections suggest the flood could affect roughly 5 million people.[52]
Human impacts

Damaged infrastructure, one week after the 2007 Peru earthquake

An earthquake may cause injury and loss of life, road and bridge damage, general property damage (which may or may not be covered by earthquake insurance), and collapse or

destabilization (potentially leading to future collapse) of buildings. The aftermath may bring disease, lack of basic necessities, and higher insurance premiums.

Major earthquakes
One of the most devastating earthquakes in recorded history occurred on 23 January 1556 in the Shaanxi province, China, killing more than 830,000 people (see 1556 Shaanxi earthquake).[53] Most of the population in the area at the time lived in yaodongs, artificial caves in loess cliffs, many of which collapsed during the catastrophe with great loss of life. The 1976 Tangshan earthquake, with death toll estimated to be between 240,000 to 655,000, is believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century by death toll.[54] The largest earthquake that has been measured on a seismograph reached 9.5 magnitude, occurring on 22 May 1960.[28][29] Its epicenter was near Caete, Chile. The energy released was approximately twice that of the next most powerful earthquake, the Good Friday Earthquake, which was centered in Prince William Sound, Alaska.[55][56] The ten largest recorded earthquakes have all been megathrust earthquakes; however, of these ten, only the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake is simultaneously one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. Earthquakes that caused the greatest loss of life, while powerful, were deadly because of their proximity to either heavily populated areas or the ocean, where earthquakes often create tsunamis that can devastate communities thousands of kilometers away. Regions most at risk for great loss of life include those where earthquakes are relatively rare but powerful, and poor regions with lax, unenforced, or nonexistent seismic building codes.

Prediction
Main article: Earthquake prediction

Many different methods have been developed for predicting the time and place in which earthquakes will occur. Despite considerable research efforts by seismologists, scientifically reproducible predictions cannot yet be made to a specific day or month.[57] However, for well-understood faults the probability that a segment may rupture during the next few decades can be estimated.[58] Earthquake warning systems have been developed that can provide regional notification of an earthquake in progress, but before the ground surface has begun to move, potentially allowing people within the system's range to seek shelter before the earthquake's impact is felt.

Preparedness
The objective of earthquake engineering is to foresee the impact of earthquakes on buildings and other structures and to design such structures to minimize the risk of damage. Existing structures can be modified by seismic retrofitting to improve their resistance to earthquakes. Earthquake insurance can provide building owners with financial protection against losses resulting from earthquakes.

Emergency management strategies can be employed by a government or organization to mitigate risks and prepare for consequences.

Historical views

An image from a 1557 book

From the lifetime of the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras in the 5th century BCE to the 14th century CE, earthquakes were usually attributed to "air (vapors) in the cavities of the Earth."[59] Thales of Miletus, who lived from 625547 (BCE) was the only documented person who believed that earthquakes were caused by tension between the earth and water.[59] Other theories existed, including the Greek philosopher Anaxamines' (585526 BCE) beliefs that short incline episodes of dryness and wetness caused seismic activity. The Greek philosopher Democritus (460371 BCE) blamed water in general for earthquakes.[59] Pliny the Elder called earthquakes "underground thunderstorms.

Size and frequency of occurrence

It is estimated that around 500,000 earthquakes occur each year, detectable with current instrumentation. About 100,000 of these can be felt.[28][29] Minor earthquakes occur nearly constantly around the world in places like California and Alaska in the U.S., as well as in Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, the Azores in Portugal, Turkey, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, and Japan, but earthquakes can occur almost anywhere, including New York City, London, and Australia.[30] Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship being exponential; for example, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occur in a particular time period than earthquakes larger than magnitude 5. In the (low seismicity) United Kingdom, for example, it has been calculated that the average recurrences are: an earthquake of 3.74.6 every year, an earthquake of 4.75.5 every 10 years, and an earthquake of 5.6 or larger every 100 years.[31] This is an example of the Gutenberg-Richter law.

The Messina earthquake and tsunami took as many as 200,000 lives on December 28, 1908 in Sicily and Calabria.[32]

The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in 1931 to many thousands today. As a result, many more earthquakes are reported than in the past, but this is because of the vast improvement in instrumentation, rather than an increase in the number of earthquakes. The United States Geological Survey estimates that, since 1900, there have been an average of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.07.9) and one great earthquake (magnitude 8.0 or greater) per year, and that this average has been relatively stable.[33] In recent years, the number of major earthquakes per year has decreased, though this is probably a statistical fluctuation rather than a systematic trend. More detailed statistics on the size and frequency of earthquakes is available from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).[34] Alternatively, some scientists suggest that the recent increase in major earthquakes could be explained by a cyclical pattern of periods of intense tectonic activity, interspersed with longer periods of low-intensity. However, accurate recordings of earthquakes only began in the early 1900s, so it is too early to categorically state that this is the case.[35] Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000 km long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific Plate.[36][37] Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as along the Himalayan Mountains.[38] With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo and Tehran, in areas of high seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a single quake may claim the lives of up to 3 million people.[39]

Measuring and locating earthquakes

Earthquakes can be recorded by seismometers up to great distances, because seismic waves travel through the whole Earth's interior. The absolute magnitude of a quake is conventionally reported by numbers on the Moment magnitude scale (formerly Richter scale, magnitude 7 causing serious damage over large areas), whereas the felt magnitude is reported using the modified Mercalli intensity scale (intensity IIXII). Every tremor produces different types of seismic waves, which travel through rock with different velocities:

Longitudinal P-waves (shock- or pressure waves) Transverse S-waves (both body waves)

Surface waves (Rayleigh and Love waves)

Propagation velocity of the seismic waves ranges from approx. 3 km/s up to 13 km/s, depending on the density and elasticity of the medium. In the Earth's interior the shock- or P waves travel much faster than the S waves (approx. relation 1.7 : 1). The differences in travel time from the epicentre to the observatory are a measure of the distance and can be used to image both sources of quakes and structures within the Earth. Also the depth of the hypocenter can be computed roughly. In solid rock P-waves travel at about 6 to 7 km per second; the velocity increases within the deep mantle to ~13 km/s. The velocity of S-waves ranges from 23 km/s in light sediments and 45 km/s in the Earth's crust up to 7 km/s in the deep mantle. As a consequence, the first waves of a distant earth quake arrive at an observatory via the Earth's mantle. Rule of thumb: On the average, the kilometer distance to the earthquake is the number of seconds between the P and S wave times 8.[43] Slight deviations are caused by inhomogeneities of subsurface structure. By such analyses of seismograms the Earth's core was located in 1913 by Beno Gutenberg. Earthquakes are not only categorized by their magnitude but also by the place where they occur. The world is divided into 754 Flinn-Engdahl regions (F-E regions), which are based on political and geographical boundaries as well as seismic activity. More active zones are divided into smaller F-E regions whereas less active zones belong to larger F-E regions.