Top 10 Worst Earthquakes in India

Natural disasters are beyond human control. Many disasters are the result of human activities, but many are part of the routine of nature. India has faced some of the top worst earthquakes its history. Today man is exploiting the forests, plains, mountains, and minerals indiscriminately for his personal selfishness. As a result of that natural calamities are increasing day by day.

Here are Top 10 Worst Earthquakes in India:

2005 Kashmir Earthquake

2005 Kashmir earthquake is one of the top10 worst earthquakes in India.  It recorded a magnitude 7.6 moments and had a peak intensity of Mercalli XI. 

There was virtually no infrastructure and communication was badly affected. More than 70% of all casualties were estimated to have occurred in Muzaffarabad. In some places, whole sections of towns slid off cliffs and entire families were killed. 

At least 79,000 people were killed and more than 32,000 buildings collapsed in Kashmir, with additional fatalities and destruction reported in India and Afghanistan, making it one of the most destructive earthquakes of contemporary times.

It was also assigned an XI on the environmental seismic intensity scale. The relief effort in Jammu and Kashmir was led by IAS state administration officials Bashir Runyal and Jaipal Singh Law. 

Five Line of Control (LOC) crossings between India and Pakistan have been opened to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian and medical aid to the affected region, and relief teams from different parts of Pakistan and around the world have arrived in the region to assist rescue operations there. Overall it is one of the top10 worst earthquakes in India.

1905 Kangra Earthquake

The 1905 earthquake is one of the top10 worst earthquakes in India. It measured 7.8 on the surface wave intensity scale and killed more than 20,000 people. The magnitude 7.8-7.9 earthquake occurred in the western Himalayas in the state of Himachal Pradesh at an estimated depth of 6 km along a very shallow embedded thrust fault, possibly on the main tributary of the Himalayan thrust. 

About 150 km southeast of this area, an area of ​​magnitude VIII has been recorded. This unusually high intensity is a far cry from the
Indo-Gangetic Plain earthquake that included the cities of Dehradun and Saharanpur.

 It is felt VII in cities such as Kasauli, Bilaspur, Chamba and Lahore. Taking into account the magnitude distribution due to this earthquake, the current housing type and population density, it is estimated that if this earthquake occurred at midnight, the total occupant losses.  Overall it is one of the top worst earthquakes in India.

Uttarkashi Earthquake

The Uttarkashi earthquake is one of the top 10 worst earthquakes in India. As per IMD, its epicentre was nearby Almora, at a distance of around 160 km from Uttarkashi. It mainly affected the Uttarkashi, Tehri, and Chamoli districts in the state of Uttarakhand. 

 Stone masonry homes fared badly in areas where high-intensity shaking occurred. As per the official information, 307,000 people living in 1294 villages were affected out of which 768 died and around 5000 were injured.

 In addition, it claimed over 3000 livestock. Its vibrations were felt up to New Delhi, the capital city of India.  That’s why it is one of the top worst earthquakes in India.

2011 Skikkim Earthquake

Sikkim earthquake is one of the top worst earthquakes in India. It occurred with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and was centered within the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, near the border of Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim, at 18:10 IST on Sunday, 18 September. 

The strongest shaking occurred to the west in Gangtok and further south in Siliguri, although similar ground motions registering at VI on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale were recorded in many smaller towns such as Mangan across elevated regions. 

The earthquake struck near a mountainous, albeit very populous region near the Sikkim–Nepal border most of the structures were highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking. Upon impact, tens of thousands of residents evacuated their homes, and many areas suffered from communication and power outages. 

The strong shaking caused significant building collapse and mudslides at least 111 people were confirmed killed and hundreds sustained injuries by the effects of the earthquake. Northern India suffered the worst from the earthquake, with at least 75 people killed. 

Sixty people were reportedly killed in Sikkim alone. ower supply was disrupted in areas near Sikkim, including Kalimpong of Darjeeling district, and adjoining Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts; the outages were in part blamed on an affected electric substation in Siliguri.

Indian former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, on 19 September, announced Rs 200,000 as ex-gratia to a family member of those killed in the earthquake and Rs 50,000 for those grievously injured and Rs 25,000 (US$310) for those with minor injuries was announced by Sikkim former chief minister Pawan Chamling. Overall it is one of the top worst earthquakes in India.

Jabalpur Earthquake

Jabalpur earthquake is one of the top worst earthquakes in India. It occurred at 4:21 am in the morning on 22 May 1997 in the district of Jabalpur in the Madhya Pradesh state of India. Its epicentre was close to Koshamghat village. As per the Dr V. Subramanyan, a geologist, the cause of this quake was the movement on the Narmada fault.

The districts that were severely hit by this quake were Jabalpur, Seoni, Chhindwara, and Mandal. Over 30 people died. Besides this, 887 villages were affected due to this catastrophe including 8,546 houses destroyed and around 52,690 houses were damaged partially.

 Furthermore, longitudinal ground cracks were also observed in some regions of the affected districts. Moreover it is one of the top worst earthquakes in India.

2015 Nepal Earthquake

Nepal earthquake is one of the top worst earthquakes in India. It occurred at 11:56 Nepal Standard Time on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8Mwor 8.1Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X. In most of Kathmandu the intensity was VIII-IX, as evidenced by the numerous undamaged water towers installed on top of undamaged multi story buildings. 

Tremors were felt in the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, in the National Capital Region around New Delhi and as far south as Karnataka. 

Disastrous events in very poor and politically paralyzed nations such as Nepal often become a long drawn out chain of events, in that one disaster feeds into another for years or even decades upon end. 

The aftereffects from the earthquake had subsequent effects on a myriad of things: human trafficking, labour cost and availability, rental and property cost burdens, urbanization, private and public debt burdens, mental health, politics, tourism, disease, and damage to the healthcare system. 

The earthquake killed at least 8,857 people in Nepal and injured nearly three times as many. The rural death toll may have been minimized by the fact that most villagers were outdoors working when the quake hit. 

About 90% of soldiers from the Nepalese Army were sent to the stricken areas in the aftermath of the earthquake under Operation Sankat Mochan, with volunteers mobilized from other parts of the country.

 Volunteers used crisis mapping to help plan emergency aid work. Local organization Kathmandu Living Labs helped coordinate local knowledge on the ground and collaborated with international crisis mapping and humanitarian organizations. Moreover it is one of the top worst earthquakes in India. 

Indian Ocean Earthquake

Indian Ocean earthquake is one of the top worst earthquakes in India. It  also known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and also called Sumatra-Andaman earthquake by the scientists. It occurred at 07:58 am on 26 December 2004. 

Its epicentre was off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It was an undersea megathrust earthquake that was measured 9.1-9.3 on Mercalli intensity scale. Its epicentre was located between mainland Sumatra and Simeulue.

The reason for this quake was found to be a split alongside the fault between the Burma and India plate. The underwater seismic activity caused tsunami waves of up to 100ft in height. Countries adjacent to the Indian Ocean were affected adversely and over 2 lakh people were killed in this tsunami. That’s why it is one of the top worst earthquakes in India.

Latur Earthquake

It was one of the top 10 top worst earthquakes in India. It was 1993. Almost 20,000 people died and about 30,000 were injured. The magnitude of the earthquake was measured at 6.4 on the Richter scale. There was enormous property damage. 

Fifty-two villages were destroyed by the earthquake within the plate. The earthquake’s hypocenter was about 10 km deep – relatively shallow – which allowed the shock waves to do more damage. It is believed to be the deadliest earthquake with stable continental crust ever recorded in history. 

The hygienists and staff of the Railway Hospital, Solapur and V.M. Medical College, Solapur, was among the first to arrive and over the next few weeks helped treat the wounded. 

The first convoy of more than 120 truckloads of supplies including tents, blankets, food and clothing, medical supplies and emergency shelter donated by international donors. Moreover it is one of the top major worst earthquakes in India.

2001 Gujarat Earthquake

On the morning of Republic Day 2001, the residents of Bhuj awoke to the sounds of a devastating catastrophe that claimed nearly 20,000 lives. The Gujarat earthquake is one of the top 10 worst earthquakes in India. It was caused by movements on a previously unknown south-dipping fault parallel to suspected rift structures.

 The earthquake struck the city of Bhuj on the morning of India’s annual Republic Day and was felt across much of north-west India and parts of Pakistan. The earthquake not only killed more than 20,000 people and injured people and more than 150,000 others, it also displaced hundreds of thousands and destroyed or damaged more than a million buildings. 

The government also announced a $2.5 million program to revitalize small, medium and small businesses. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank also provided loans worth US$300 million and US$500 million, respectively. That’s why it is one of the major worst earthquakes in India.

Anjar Earthquake

Anjar earthquake is one of the top 10 major worst earthquakes in India. It occurred at 15:32 UTC on 21 July, causing maximum damage in town of Anjar in Kutch, Gujarat, India. It had an estimated magnitude of 6.1 on the surface wave magnitude scale.

 It caused considerable damage and casualties, especially in and around town of Anjar, India. The area of maximum damage was of 2000 km2 and radius of perceptibility was 300 km. The other towns affected were Bhuj, Kera, Bhachau, Gandhidham and port town of Kandla. At least 115 people were reported to have died and casualties numbered to 254 as per government records.

 It was estimated that more than 3,000 houses in 25 villages developed huge cracks, losses ran up to Rs 10 million. Such devastation wreaked by the quake made it one of the worst calamity to hit Kutch in the past 100 years.

 Anjar, which is a historic town and very congested in the old parts was largely destroyed in this earthquake of 1956. Later, new houses were raised on old foundations, and in due course of time also the new township of Naya Anjar or New Anjar township was founded after this earthquake for rehabilitation purpose. 

The railway track near Anjar was damaged as the earth gave way over a length of nearly 50 feet, however, other major railway lines, roads, bridges, culverts, were not affected by this earthquake. No wonder it is one of the major worst earthquakes in India.

Conclusion

As for the final day these are some of the top 10 worst earthquakes in India. The disaster have caused a huge havoc and millions of death and damage. During those times government and charities have taken major steps to provide relief to public.