Valuable lessons learnt by the people of Gujarat towards preparedness for natural
disasters
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Answer:
Different parts of India experienced seismic activity on the early morning of July 16, 2020. An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter Scale hit Rajkot in Gujarat at 7:40 am. Just after that, tremors were also felt in Assam at 7:57 AM. An earthquake was also observed in Himachal Pradesh with a magnitude of 2.3 at 4:47 AM.
The increase in seismic activity in the Indian plate also caused small quakes earlier in the year in Delhi as well as Gujarat. While these quakes have not caused significant damage, it is important for us to stay prepared if more devastating earthquakes occur, considering the fact that Indian plate is one of the most important tectonic plates which is very active.
Life is fickle. You never know which moment is going to be your last. Even if you think everything is well with you and your loved ones, a disaster may just come and strike you in a way that you may never be able to completely move past from it. I think everyone will be able to relate to this at this time when a global pandemic is shaking up and changing everything we knew before. People have started to refer to the pandemic as a benchmark and they refer to life as before and after COVID-19. This, however, is not a new experience for me for I have lived through the 2001 earthquake of Gujarat.
26th January 2001 was a black republic day for the people of Kutch – the largest district of India. An earthquake of 7.7 magnitudes on moment magnitude scale and X (extreme) maximum felt intensity as per Mercalli Intensity scale struck the region at 08:46 AM IST. The epicentre of the quake was in Bhachau taluka of the district – about 75 km away from Bhuj city which is the headquarters of the district and my hometown. The quake that lasted for roughly 22 seconds caused havoc that many of us have still not recovered from.
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