1956 Anjar earthquake
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The 1956 Anjar earthquake 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 and a maximum perceived intensity of IX on the Mercalli intensity scale.India: Anjar, Bhuj, Gandhidham, Kandla Earthquake, 1956
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Earthquake

The
epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...
of earthquake of 21 July 1956 was at somewhere between Anjar and
Bhadresar Bhadresar or Bhadreshwar is a village in Mundra Taluka, Kutch district of Gujarat, India. It is about 27 km from Taluka headquarters Mundra and barely a kilometer away from the seashore. History Bhadreshwar is the site of the ancient cit ...
, very close to that of 1819 Kutch earthquake, between 50 and 120 km away depending on the epicentral location chosen for the earlier event. It caused considerable damage and casualties, especially in and around town of
Anjar, India Anjar is a town, township and municipality of the Kachchh district in the state of Gujarat, India. Founded in 650 AD, Anjar is a culturally diverse town of historic importance in the region. It is home to several historic religious temples, inc ...
. The area of maximum damage was of 2000 km2 and radius of perceptibility was 300 km. The cause of earthquake was reverse faulting, similar to that which caused the 1819 earthquake.


Damage

The town of Anjar and the
Taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
of Anjar were the most affected region with 2000 houses damaged, of which half of them were in Anjar town alone. The other towns affected were
Bhuj Bhuj () is a Municipality and District Headquarters of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. Etymology According to legend, Kutch was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to Kin ...
, Kera, Bhachau,
Gandhidham Gandhidham, initially known as Sardarganj, is the largest and most populous city in Kutch District, Gujarat, India. It was created in the early 1950s for the resettlement of Sindhi Hindu refugees from Sindh (now in Pakistan) in the aftermath ...
and port town of
Kandla Kandla, now officially Deendayal Port Authority, is a seaport and town in Kutch district of Gujarat state in Western India, near the city of Gandhidham. Located on the Gulf of Kutch, it is one of India's major ports on the west coast. It is ab ...
. 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 10 million. Such devastation wreaked by the quake made it one of the worst calamity to hit Kutch in the past 100 years. More than 8,000 people migrated from the district a few days after the quake. The earthquake was followed by heavy rains, which added to the misery of thousands living in temporary camps. 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.Proceedings of the Indian Science Congress – Volume 44 – 1957 – Page 167.


Other events

The next major earthquake in the region was of 26 January 2001, which again was due to a similar style of faulting as the 1819 earthquake.


See also

*
List of earthquakes in 1956 This is a list of earthquakes in 1956. 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 th ...
*
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

* {{Earthquakes in India
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...
1956 earthquakes July 1956 events in Asia Kutch district History of Gujarat (1947–present) 1956 in India History of Kutch
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...
1956 disasters in India