1934 Nepal–India earthquake
{{Short description|1934 earthquake in South Asia}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox earthquake
| title = 1934 Nepal–India earthquake
| timestamp = 1934-01-15 08:43:25
| isc-event = 904745
| anss-url = iscgem904745
| local-date = {{Start date|df=yes|1934|01|15}}
| local-time = 2:13 pm IST
| map2 = {{Location map+|Nepal
| places =
{{Location map~|Nepal|lat=26.86|long=86.59|mark=Bullseye1.png|marksize=50}}
{{Location map~|Nepal|lat= 27.7|long=85.3|label=Kathmandu|label_size=100|position=left|mark=Green pog.svg}}
| relief = yes
| width = 250
| float = center|border=infobox
| caption = }}
| magnitude = 8.0 {{M|w|link=y}}
| depth = {{convert|15|km|abbr=on}}
| location = {{coord|26.86|N|86.59|E|display=inline,title}}
| countries affected = India, Nepal
| casualties = 10,700–12,000
| aftershocks =
| foreshocks =
| landslide =
| affected =
| tsunami =
| pgv =
| pga =
| damages =
| fault = Main Frontal-Himalayan Thrust
| duration =
| map_caption =
| map_alt =
| map =
| alt =
| image = Old Darbhanga Raj Palace-Damaged by earthquake.jpg
| caption = Old Darbhanga Raj Palace damage, by the quake
| citations =
}}
The 1934 Nepal–India earthquake or 1934 Bihar–Nepal earthquake was one of the worst earthquakes in India's history. The towns of Munger and Muzaffarpur were completely destroyed. This 8.0 magnitude earthquake occurred on 15 January 1934 at around 2:13 pm IST (08:43 UTC) and caused widespread damage in northern Bihar and in Nepal.
Earthquake
The epicentre for this event was located in eastern Nepal about {{convert|9.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Mount Everest. The areas where the most damage to life and property occurred extended from Purnea in the east to Champaran in the west (a distance of nearly {{convert|320|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=or}}), and from Kathmandu in the north to Munger in the south (a distance of nearly {{convert|465|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=or}}). The impact was reported to be felt in Lhasa to Bombay, and from Assam to Punjab. The earthquake was so severe that in Kolkata, around 650 km (404 mi) from epicenter, many buildings were damaged and the tower of St. Paul's Cathedral collapsed.
=Ground effects=
A particular phenomenon of the earthquake was that sand and water vents appeared throughout the central vents of the earthquake area. The ground around these sand fissures subsided, causing more damage. Extensive liquefaction of the ground took place over a length of 300 km (called the slump belt) during the earthquake, in which many structures went afloat.
File:Gandhi in Bihar after the earthquake.jpg
In Muzaffarpur, sand fissures erupted at several places in town. The wells were choked with sand, while water levels in tanks became shallower due to sand deposited in the tank beds. Most of the buildings in Muzzafarpur were damaged. All the kutcha (ramshackle) buildings collapsed, while other pukka (solidly built) buildings suffered damage due to sinking and cracking of the ground.
=Damage=
The three major towns of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal—Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan—were severely affected and almost all the buildings collapsed. Large cracks appeared in the ground and several roads were damaged in Kathmandu; however, the temple of Pashupatinath, the guardian deity of Nepal, escaped any damage. The 1618-meter-long Kosi Rail Bridge on the Metre Gauge Railway line connecting Darbhanga Raj with Forbesganj was washed away and the River Kosi changed its path eastward.
In Sitamarhi, not a single house was left standing. In Bhagalpur district many buildings collapsed. In Patna, many buildings in the bazaar were destroyed and damage was particularly severe along the river. In Rajnagar, near Madhubani, all the Kutcha buildings collapsed. The buildings of Darbhanga Raj, including the famous Navlakha Palace, were severely damaged. In Jharia the earthquake led to further spread of underground fire. The town of Birgunj was destroyed, along with its telephone line to Kathmandu.Bipin Adhikari. [http://www.spotlightnepal.com/News/Article/Bipin-Adhikari-great-earthquake-Nepal The Great Earthquake of 1934] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529074222/http://www.spotlightnepal.com/News/Article/Bipin-Adhikari-great-earthquake-Nepal |date=29 May 2015 }}. NewSpotLight Nepal News Magazine, Vol. 8, No. 22, 22 May 2015. Accessed 29 May 2015.
The number of deaths was 10,700–12,000 with 7,253 recorded in Bihar.
A 1935 work by Major General Brahma Shamsher documenting the event, Nepalko Maha Bhukampa 1990, stated that this was Nepal's most destructive earthquake in living memory, and praised the Nepalese Army for its work in relief efforts.Rāṇā, Brahmaśamśera Jaṅgabahādūra, and Kesar Lall. The Great Earthquake in Nepal (1934 A.D.). 1st English edition. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 2013. {{ISBN|9789937330152}}
Aftermath
Mahatma Gandhi visited the Bihar state. He wrote that the Bihar earthquake was providential retribution for India's failure to eradicate untouchability. Rabindranath Tagore took offence to the irrationality in his statement and accused Gandhi of superstition, even though he was totally in agreement with Gandhi on the issue of untouchability.{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/the-great-debate-6334226/|title=When Tagore accused Gandhi of superstition|date=28 March 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/724133/suggesting-religious-reasons-for-quakes-isnt-new-mahatma-gandhi-did-that-in-1934|title=Suggesting religious reasons for quakes isn't new: Mahatma Gandhi did that in 1934|date=30 April 2015}} In Bihar, Sri Babu (Shri Krishna Sinha) and the other great leader Anugrah Babu (Anugrah Narayan Sinha), threw themselves into relief work.{{cite book|author1=Ramaswami Venkataraman|author2=India. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Publications Division|title=So may India be great: selected speeches and writings of President R. Venkataraman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=08VGAAAAMAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India}} Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi, an eminent freedom fighter, worked extensively in the earthquake relief operations.{{Cite book|author=Nehru Memorial Museum and Library|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MgduAAAAMAAJ|title=NMML Manuscripts: An Introduction|pages=120|date=2003|publisher=Nehru Memorial Museum and Library|isbn=9788187614050}}{{Cite news|url=https://epaper.prabhatkhabar.com/3361819/MUZAFFARPUR-City/city#clip/65793594/abf76f4c-a26e-45d9-b83c-ee761630f949/991.1111111111111:488.8907095871553|title=Freedom Fighter Dr Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi remembered on Republic Day|date=24 January 2022|newspaper=Prabhat Khabar|language=hi}} He operated several relief camps providing the affected people with food and shelter.{{Cite news|date=4 March 2021|url=https://teesrijungnews.com/2021/03/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%BC%E0%A4%AB%E0%A4%BC%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0-%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A6-%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9C/|title=मग़फ़ुर अहमद अजाज़ी : जंग ए आज़ादी का गुमनाम सिपाही!|newspaper=Teesri Jung|language=hi}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{citation|title=ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009)|url=http://www.isc.ac.uk/iscgem/index.php|author=ISC|year=2015|publisher=International Seismological Centre|series=Version 2.0}}
{{cite web|url=http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=3528&t=101650&s=13&d=22,26,13,12&nd=display|title=Significant earthquake|access-date=16 February 2012|publisher=National Geophysical Data Center|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216112019/https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=3528&t=101650&s=13&d=22,26,13,12&nd=display|archive-date=16 December 2017}}
}}
Further reading
- {{Cite book|last=Marcussen|first=Eleonor|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/acts-of-aid/0E6AADE3EDCCF421BB97C7919C24C544|title=Acts of Aid: Politics of Relief and Reconstruction in the 1934 Bihar–Nepal Earthquake|date=January 2022|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-83809-2|location=Cambridge}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Riesner|first1=M.|last2=Bollinger|first2=L.|last3=Rizza|first3=M.|last4=Klinger|first4=Y.|last5=Karakaş|first5=Ç.|last6=Sapkota|first6=S. N.|last7=Shah|first7=C.|last8=Guérin|first8=C.|last9=Tapponnier|first9=P.|title=Surface rupture and landscape response in the middle of the great Mw 8.3 1934 earthquake mesoseismal area: Khutti Khola site|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=13|issue=1|date=2023|page=4566|issn=2045-2322|doi=10.1038/s41598-023-30697-7|pmid=36941305|pmc=10027815|bibcode=2023NatSR..13.4566R|doi-access=free}}
External links
- [http://cires.colorado.edu/~bilham/HimFatalities.html 1934 Mw 8.1 Bihar/Nepal earthquake 15 January 1934] – Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
- [http://asc-india.org/maps/intensity/1934-nepal.htm Intensity Map] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20100427045608/http://asc-india.org/maps/intensity/1934-nepal.htm Archived]) – Amateur Seismic Centre
- {{EQ-isc-link|904745}}
{{Earthquakes in Nepal}}
{{Earthquakes in India}}
{{Himalayan earthquakes}}
{{Earthquakes in 1934}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1934 Nepal-India earthquake}}
Category:Natural disasters in Bihar
Category:Megathrust earthquakes in India