Earthquake in western India
January 31, 2001
Provided by: BBC News
Summary author & editor: Jim Foster
A powerful earthquake devastated parts of western India last Friday (January 26). As of now, upwards of 20,000 people are feared dead, and the death toll is still climbing. The photograph above shows the severe damage to buildings and homes in a city in the Gujarat Provence, which was particularly hard hit by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was about 250 miles west of Ahmadabad, a city of approximately 4 million people. This quake occurred along an east-west trending thrust fault - where the Indian plate is pushing northward into the Eurasian plate. The last big trembler to affect this region of India happened in 1819, killing about 2,000 people.
Related Links: