Gujarat Earthquake 
Kirtan Patel
McNally
December 9, 2014
2001 Gujarat Earthquake
On the morning of January 26, 2001, just when India was celebrating her 51st
Republic Day, an earthquake of 6.9 intensity on the Richter scale with epicentre 20 km northeast of Bhuj hit the western state of Gujarat., Bhuj is the headquarters of the district of
Kutch. Kutch, with a population of 1.47 million, extends over 45,662 sq. kms., and is larger than the States of Haryana (44,212 sq. kms.) and Kerala (38,863 sq. kms.). The quake devastated Kutch, and wreaked extensive damage in the adjoining districts of Ahmedabad
(5.74 million), Rajkot (3.05 million), Jamnangar (1.69 million), Surendranagar (1.37 million), and Patan (estimated at 1.21 million)., Practically all buildings and structures in five talukas
(administrative subdivisions of the district) of Kutch, namely Bhuj (327 thousand), Bhachau
(127 thousand), Rapar (164 thousand), Anjar (365 thousand) and Gandhidham (116 thousand) have been brought down by the quake. The death toll in Kutch was a staggering
11.5 per 1,000 people.
Based on body count, until midday February 15, 2001, the total casualty was 18,602.
As of February 15, 2001, the number of deaths reported in Kutch itself was 17,030. Extensive losses have been reported from the affected areas. On the basis of preliminary estimates, the severity of the quake and its devastation can be judged by a comparison of some natural disasters in recent times. Normalisation of disaster induced deaths, homelessness, and economic loss by the population or GDP of a country can reduce the apparent scale of a disaster in a large country. This can be illustrated with the example of the district of Kutch – a
district with a population close to that of Nicaragua – worst affected by the recent quake.
While the inherent magnitude of the loss and the tragedy is a given quantum, it looks very different depending on whether the loss to life and income are expressed as a
McNally
December 9, 2014
2001 Gujarat Earthquake
On the morning of January 26, 2001, just when India was celebrating her 51st
Republic Day, an earthquake of 6.9 intensity on the Richter scale with epicentre 20 km northeast of Bhuj hit the western state of Gujarat., Bhuj is the headquarters of the district of
Kutch. Kutch, with a population of 1.47 million, extends over 45,662 sq. kms., and is larger than the States of Haryana (44,212 sq. kms.) and Kerala (38,863 sq. kms.). The quake devastated Kutch, and wreaked extensive damage in the adjoining districts of Ahmedabad
(5.74 million), Rajkot (3.05 million), Jamnangar (1.69 million), Surendranagar (1.37 million), and Patan (estimated at 1.21 million)., Practically all buildings and structures in five talukas
(administrative subdivisions of the district) of Kutch, namely Bhuj (327 thousand), Bhachau
(127 thousand), Rapar (164 thousand), Anjar (365 thousand) and Gandhidham (116 thousand) have been brought down by the quake. The death toll in Kutch was a staggering
11.5 per 1,000 people.
Based on body count, until midday February 15, 2001, the total casualty was 18,602.
As of February 15, 2001, the number of deaths reported in Kutch itself was 17,030. Extensive losses have been reported from the affected areas. On the basis of preliminary estimates, the severity of the quake and its devastation can be judged by a comparison of some natural disasters in recent times. Normalisation of disaster induced deaths, homelessness, and economic loss by the population or GDP of a country can reduce the apparent scale of a disaster in a large country. This can be illustrated with the example of the district of Kutch – a
district with a population close to that of Nicaragua – worst affected by the recent quake.
While the inherent magnitude of the loss and the tragedy is a given quantum, it looks very different depending on whether the loss to life and income are expressed as a