1934 Bihar earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 1934 Bihar earthquake was one of the worst earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

s in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

's history. Some 30,000 people were said to have died. Munger
Munger
Munger town is the headquarters of Munger district, in the Indian state of Bihar. Historically, Munger is known for its manufacturing of iron articles such as firearms and swords. One of the major institutions in Munger is Bihar School of Yoga. It is one of the foremost learning center in the...

 and Muzaffarpur
Muzaffarpur
Muzaffarpur Town is a town in Muzaffarpur district in the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of Muzaffarpur district and Tirhut division....

 were completely destroyed. This 8.4 magnitude earthquake occurred on January 15, 1934 at around 2:13 PM (I.S.T.) and caused widespread damage in the northern Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

 and in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

. The epicentre for this event was located in the eastern Nepal about 240 km away from Kathmandu.

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 320 km (198.8 mi)—and from Kathmandu in the north to Munger
Munger
Munger town is the headquarters of Munger district, in the Indian state of Bihar. Historically, Munger is known for its manufacturing of iron articles such as firearms and swords. One of the major institutions in Munger is Bihar School of Yoga. It is one of the foremost learning center in the...

 in the south—a distance of nearly 130 km (80.8 mi). The impact was reported to be felt in Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...

 to Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, and from Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

 to Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...

. The earthquake was so severe that in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

, (around 650 km from epicenter) many buildings were damaged and the tower of St. Paul Cathedral collapsed.

One noteworthy phenomenon of this earthquake was that sand and water vents appeared throughout the central vents of 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 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake in which many structures went afloat.

In Muzzafarpur, 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 buildings collapsed while other buildings suffered damage due to sinking and cracking of the ground.

In Sitamarhi
Sitamarhi
Sitamarhi is a town and the district headquarters of Sitamarhi district, Bihar, India.-History:The name Sitamarhi, derives from "Sitamahi", meaning "hermitage of Sita". It is the mythological birthplace of Sita, and the spiritual centre of many sages and saints.This district is often bereaved by...

, not a single house was left standing.

In Rajnagar
Rajnagar Bihar
See Rajnagar for disambiguationRajnagar Bihar is the nearest town to Madhubani, which is famous for ruins of the Navlakha Palace See Rajnagar for disambiguationRajnagar Bihar is the nearest town to Madhubani, which is famous for ruins of the Navlakha Palace See Rajnagar for disambiguationRajnagar...

, near Madhubani, all the Kutcha buildings collapsed. The buildings of Darbhanga Raj, including the famous Naulakha Palace, were severely damaged.

The three important towns of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

—Kathmandu, Bhatgaon 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
Pashupatinath temple
Pashupatinath Temple is one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world, located on the banks of the Bagmati River in the eastern part of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The temple served as the seat of the national deity, Lord Pashupatinath, Nepal is a secular country...

 of Pashupatinath
Shree Pashupatinath
Shree Pashupatinath is an incarnation of the Hindu Lord Shiva. He is revered throughout the Hindu world, but especially in Nepal where he is regarded as the national deity.- Etymology :...

, the guardian deity of Nepal, escaped any damage.

Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

 visited the state. He wrote that the Bihar earthquake was providential retribution
Divine retribution
Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or all humanity by a deity in response to some human action.Many cultures have a story about how a deity exacted punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.An example of divine retribution is the...

 for India's failure to eradicate untouchability.

1934 Bihar/Nepal M=8.1 approximately 10,500 deaths (see Dunn et al. 1934). The epicenter of the earthquake was some 10 km south of Mt. Everest, despite numerous report that cite Gutenberg and Richter's inaccurate location near Bihar.

A report on the Bihar Earthquake and on the measures taken in consequence thereof up to the 31st December 1934. W.B. Brett, Relief Commissioner, Bihar and Orissa. Superintendent, Government Printing, Bihar and Orissa, Patna, 1935. Total number of deaths (in Bihar): 7253.

Further reading



http://cires.colorado.edu/~bilham/HimFatalities.html
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