The 1967 Koynanagar earthquake occurred near
Koynanagar
Koynanagar is a town in Maharashtra, India. It is situated on the Chiplun-Sangli state highway on the banks of Koyna River. The town is small but famous for Koyna Dam and the Koyna Hydroelectric Project which is the largest completed hydroelectri ...
town in
Maharashtra, India on 11 December
local time
Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...
. The magnitude 6.6 shock hit with a maximum
Mercalli intensity
The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...
of VIII (''Severe''). It occurred near the site of
Koyna dam
The Koyna Dam is one of the largest dams in Maharashtra, India. It is a rubble-concrete dam constructed on Koyna River which rises in Mahabaleshwar, a hillstation in Sahyadri ranges. It is located in Koyna Nagar, Satara district, in the Wes ...
, raising questions about
induced seismicity
Induced seismicity is typically minor earthquakes and tremors that are caused by human activity that alters the stresses and strains on Earth's crust. Most induced seismicity is of a low magnitude. A few sites regularly have larger quakes, such ...
, and claimed at least 177 lives and injured over 2,200.
Damage
More than 80% of the houses were damaged in Koyana Nagar Township,
but it did not cause any major damage to the dam except some cracks which were quickly repaired. There have been several earthquakes of smaller magnitude there since 1967. The earthquake caused a fissure in the ground which spread over a length of . Some geologists believe that the earthquake was due to
reservoir-triggered seismic activity,
[ but senior project officials have repeatedly denied this conclusion.]
See also
* List of earthquakes in 1967
This is a list of earthquakes in 1967. Only magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes appear on the list. Lower magnitude events are included if they have caused death, injury or damage. Events which occurred in remote areas will be excluded from the ...
* List of earthquakes in India
The Indian subcontinent has a history of earthquakes. The reason for the intensity and high frequency of earthquakes is the Indian plate driving into Asia at a rate of approximately 47 mm/year. The following is a list of major earthquakes whic ...
References
External links
*
1967 Koynangar
Koynanagar Earthquake, 1967
History of Maharashtra (1947–present)
Koynanagar Earthquake, 1967
1967 disasters in India
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